Fire Emblem: Valiant Dawn
by BrowncoatJedi
Summary: An unfortunate college student is warped to Tellius while on a relaxing getaway. Some not so relaxing stuff ensues. Oh well, when do vacations ever go as planned anyway? A POR self insert.
1. Chapter 1

Fire Emblem: Valiant Dawn

Author's note- Hi so thanks for reading my fanfic. This is a Fire Emblem POR self-insert (original I know). I have read several recently after discovering the wonderful collection of fanfiction on the internet, and was inspired to write one of my own. This is my first attempt at writing fiction since elementary school, so there will no doubt be lots of errors. Please be understanding for the first few chapters. As for the content of the story, rated M for some language, a fair amount of (not too gory) violence, and possibly mild innuendo. Oh yeah and there will be some nerdy references. Oh and if you have not completed the games set in Tellius yet be warned there will be spoilers for POR and RD.

For the record, I am avoiding making my character a Larry Stu, Gary Stu, Mary Sue etc. While I would tend to agree with the rather common opinion that self-inserts are often Mary Sues, the Fire Emblem universe seems to be one place where the self-insert genre can actually work very well without any need for making one's character ridiculously powerful. The character that is me is based on me so I will be in decent physical condition and somewhat athletic, but don't worry I've got loads of flaws. And no, I do not have any intention of pairing myself with other characters. Anyway, without further ado, I present to you my first chapter.

Disclaimer: I do not own Fire Emblem or its characters, settings and plots, nor do I own any of the series that I may make references to.

Fire Emblem: Valiant Dawn

By BrowncoatJedi

Chapter 1

An Extended Vacation

"Ah, so peaceful," I said to myself as I sat next to the lake, watching the sun go down. I smiled to myself, letting the the cool breeze and the gentle sound of the waves rolling over the stones soothe me. It had been a long and stressful first year in an extremely competitive college program. I had spent months studying anatomy, writting essays and even a medical paper, and working on difficult physics, chemistry and biology problems, all to make sure that my grades were a fraction of a grade point higher than the rest of the class. It paid off too; I got into my program of choice, Medical Radiation, but it took a ton of work and caused a massive increase in my blood pressure. So when it was all done I came here - Mazinaw Lake, a long and incredibly deep lake overlooked by an majestic cliff, surrounded by nothing but peaceful forest for miles and miles, and possibly my favourite place in the world to simply kick back and relax. I was on my own; no familly, no friends, just me and some much needed rest.

Rest that would be over the following morning. I sighed a bit at this realization; The week had certainly flown by. "Oh well," I thought. "Better get some sleep. I got a long drive ahead of me tomorrow."

I got up from the rock I had been sitting on as the last rays of light disappeared below the horizon and began the hike back to my campsite. "Good thing there's still enough light for me to see the path," I thought. "Wait a sec, LIGHT? The sun went down..." At this point I finally noticed the glowing ring of runic symbols that had appeared on the ground around me. With a rather undignified cry of fear I leapt to the side, only to be blocked by a wall of light. I tried running another direction, but it was no use - I was trapped. Trapped in a ring of light out in the middle of nowhere, I could only think of one possible explanation - alien abduction!

The world around me abruptly disappeared and I felt as if I were moving very fast - they must be transporting me to the mothership to be eaten or... probed. I felt as though I were spinning as well. Uughh nausea. Definitely regretting that hot dog earlier. Suddenly, it was over. I was back on solid ground, quite dizzy and disoriented, and seeing only indistinct blurs around me. Looking up, I saw something large and green looming over me. Terrified, I screamed "Oh god don't eat me!" In my panic, I lost my balance and fell on something hard. Everything went dark.

much later

When I woke, it was morning. A bitterly cold rain was falling, but at least I wasn't being digested by dome extraterestrial green thing, and I could see clearly again. Speaking of which, that green thing was still looming over me. And it's a tree, not an alien bent on devouring me... I was scared shitless by a tree. If I ever retell this story, I'm definitely leaving that part out.

Back to my current predicament. I did a quick self-inspection to make sure I was okay. All my limbs were attached, my vision seemed fine, and I was moderately certain that I had not been, uh, probed. In fact, aside from a throbbing lump on the back of my head from my fall the previous night, I was fine. Looking around, I realized that I was in a forest. A forest, not an alien mothership, so it was unlikely that aliens were responsible for my... displacement? Teleportation? Time travel?

Well, now that I know I'm okay, time to figure out where the hell I am. The forest is deciduous, which means I am not even close to Mazinaw Lake. Through the trees to my left, I could see what looked like a large stone fort. With the cold rain rapidly soaking me and no better option, I headed for the building.

As, I drew closer to the building, I saw a lone girl shivering in the rain. She looked to be around my age and was about average height, but that was where the normal stuff ended. She had purple hair and she was wearing a cape, a tunic and a REALLY short skirt. Like, ridiculously short. Distractingly short. Not a good idea given the weather. And her hair was PURPLE! So wierd. Oh, and she was pretty, which is just great because I can't talk to good looking girls even under normal circumstances. Also, she looked strangely familliar, but I couldn't quite remember where I'd seen her before.

"Ummm... hi?" I called out. Hey, I managed one entire word. Not bad.

She jumped at the sound of my voice. "AHH! You sc-scared me! A-are you a D-daein soldier?" she asked, shivering.

"What? No, I'm just lost... kind of..." I trailed off as what she said fully sank in. Daein? Isn't that from Fire Emblem? And come to think of it, this girl looks an awfull lot like Ilyana. But that would mean I'm in Tellius, which would be crazy, right? I can't be in Tellius - it's a fictional world. Then again, I was just teleported... by magic, which is also not supposed to be real. No, definitely not possible. It'd be awesome, but impossible. There is sure to be some perfectly reasonable explanation for all this.

"Helllooo? Y-You there? I-I said we sh-should get out of the rain," the girl said between chattering teeth, disrupting my chain of thought. Oh right, I'd forgotten she was there. And now that she's mentionned it, it's freaking COLD out here.

"Yes, g-good idea," I replied as we scrambled for the shelter of an old stable just inside the rear gate of the fort. It wasn't much warmer inside, but it was enough to stop my shivering.

"So... if you're not a Daein soldier, who are you?"

"I-I'm, uh, Adam... w-what's your name?" Aw yeah, mad talking skills. I can't even manage a full sentence without stammering, and I can't use the cold as an excuse now. Curse you attractive girl for messing with my speech!

"It's Ilyana... umm do you have any food?" Wow, her name _is _Ilyana. And she's hungry. And her hair is purple. Probably just a coincidence.

"Yeah, sure I think I have something..." Luckily, I had a granola bar in my coat pocket. She snatched it out of my hand as soon I held it out, and in an instant it was gone.

"Y'know there was a wrapper on that..."

"Pardon?" she asked, oblivious to the foreign object in her esophagus.

"Uhhhh, d-don't worry about it," Wow she must have been really hungry. "Sooo, I find myself in a bit of a..." c'mon Adam say something intelligent, like conundrum or dilemma. "...pickle." Wow, I just said pickle. Oh great, now Ilyana's looking hungry again too. Good job, me. "Can you tell me what country we're in?"

"Gallia, although I'm not quite sure where. I was somewhere near the Crimean border when I was separated from the merchant caravan I was with..." She continued talking about her merchant friends, but I heard none of it. Gallia and Crimea. I was indeed in Tellius. I must be dreaming, I thought to myself. Hoping to wake myself up, I pinched a nerve on my hand. Owwww, definitely not dreaming, that pinch hurt and I was still in Tellius. Holy shit. I am really and truly in Path of Radiance. I don't know whether I should be happy or worried for my sanity. I tried to remember what happened at this point in the game. Ilyana had just recently been separated from the merchants, so that meant sometime soon she would be found by Daein soldiers and forced to fight against the Greil Mercenaries at Gebal Castle. Come to think of it, this castle looked like Gebal Castle... oh shit.

"Over here! I've found some of the Crimeans!" a voice called out from behind me. I quickly turned around, and promptly froze when I saw a group of black-clad soldiers - Daein, no doubt - emerge from the forest. There were at least a dozen of them, including several heavily armored knights. Damn, there was no way I could escape from that many, even if I wasn't paralyzed with fear. Next to me, Ilyana seemed to be similarly frozen.

"These two weren't seen with the mercenaries in any of the battles at the border," one of the knights, obviously the leader, said. "Still, they must be with the Crimean scum if they are in this castle. They're Crimean soldiers, probably. Spies sent to warn the mercenary dogs of our daring attack, I'll wager."

"W-we're not from Crimea," I said, trying my hardest to stay calm. Surrounded by bloodthirsty Daein soldiers, panicking would only get us killed.

"You're not Crimean, you say? Prove it," he sneered, tossing a sword at my feet. "Help us storm this castle and kill the Crimean princess, and I will believe you." Haha, the fool doesn't even realize that at this point in the game, Elincia is safely at Castle Gallia. Still, I'm not going to fight the Greil Mercenaries; That's suicide.

"Yeah y'know I'd rather n-"

"That's all? Sure, we'll do it," Ilyana said loudly, stepping in front of me. Quietly, she added "What are you trying to do, get us both killed?"

"Yeah, that was pretty stupid..." I conceded under my breath.

"Good! You two will be in the first wave. You can soften them up for us," the enemy commander said, grinning evily as I reluctantly picked up the sword. With a final sneer in our direction he went off to direct the preparations for the attack, leaving a group of eight soldiers with us to attack through the rear gate of the castle. Once he was gone, Ilyana and I turned to each other.

"I hope you have a plan to get us outta this mess," I said. Fortunately, the soldiers were too busy readying their weapons to notice our conversation.

"...No, not really. I thought we'd just find some way to slip away while they weren't looking, but there's too many soldiers here for that," she admitted.

"Alright, well...' I looked around for inspiration. All those hours spent playing strategy games back home had better pay off quick. All there was in the stable was a rusted pitchfork, some old riding equipment and some hay, none of which looked very useful. We had no armor, and our only weapons were my sword and a yellow tome that Ilyana retrieved from her pack. Seeing Ilyana's thunder tome, I had an idea. "How many guys could you hit with one of those spells?"

"I could hit about five or six, especially if they were bunched up. But even then it would probably only kill a few. The others would just be stunned..."

"That's alright, it doesn't need to kill," I said, the beginnigs of a plan starting to form in my mind. "Just follow my lead, and be prepared to blast the soldiers behind us when I tell you too. Then, we'll switch sides to the Crimeans." Any further explanation of my plan was interrupted as one of the armored knights came over and ordered everyone to form up at the gate. Moments later, a horn call from the other side of the castle signaled the charge.

Two knights lead the charge with Ilyana and I just behind them. The other soldiers brought up the rear, no doubt hoping to let Ilyana and I serve as fodder to tire the mercenaries. As our group drew near to the central keep, the lead units ran into a lone, blue-haired swordsman - obviously Ike. The first knight simply charged ahead, thinking to bowl his smaller foe over with his sheer weight. Ike easily sidestepped the foolish charge and buried his sword up to its hilt in the man's side as he passed. Unfortunately, this left Ike open to a thrust from the second knight, and he had to dive wildly to the side to avoid the deadly spear. Seeing Ike's disadvantage, I decided it was time to to launch my own attack.

"Ilyana now!" I shouted as I charged toward the back of the knight in front of me. I swung my sword at the first unarmored area I saw - the back of his knee. Whether by luck or by terror-inspired skill I hit what I was aiming at, my blade cutting through the muscle and tendons and toppling the poor knight onto his back. Seeing the opening, Ike leapt in and finished the knight with a well-placed strike. Behind me, Ilyana completed her spellcasting, launching a bolt of lightning through the other Daein soldiers, dropping the first ranks and stopping those behind in their tracks. A second bolt shattered their ranks, leaving a few more dead and the rest too stunned to fight. Those who were able turned and ran. The others soon fell victim to Ike's blade. Surprisingly, my half-assed plan actually worked. With no immediate threat, Ike turned to us.

"Thanks for the help. You guys obviously aren't with Daein, so who are you?" he asked.

"My name's Ilyana, and this is... Adam, right?" I nodded, unable to speak. Holy buckets of shit, I just met COMMANDER IKE! How nerd-tacularly awesome is this moment? "I'm just a traveling mage. I got separated from the merchants I was with, and I ran into Adam here. We tried to take shelter from the rain in this castle, but those soldiers found us. They would have put us to the sword if we had not agreed to fight for them," Ilyana explained.

"Well, there's no need to worry now. I'm Ike of the Greil Mercenaries. Oh, and I think I may have seen those merchants you mentioned. Their names were Muston and Aimee..."

"Oh thank the Goddess, they're alright!" Ilyana exclaimed, a relieved expression on her face.

"They're in the castle right now. You could take shelter with them if you like," Ike offered.

"No. That was just the first wave. There are more soldiers waiting in the forest. You'll need us," she said. As if to emphasize her point, a second horn call sounded, signaling the second wave.

"Looks like you're right. Ilyana, you stay here and support me. Adam, go reinforce the other side of the courtyard. Boyd will find a way to make use of you."

"Uhhh, sure..." Shit, now I'm in trouble. I got lucky in that first fight, but I have absolutely no idea how to use a sword. Oh well, as they say in Game of Thrones, stick them with the pointy end. I reached the other side of the courtyard and found that they did indeed need backup. Only two people, Boyd and Mia from the looks of it, were defending this side, and while they were still standing they both had several minor wounds. A priest was tending to the worst of these, but I could clearly hear more enemies approaching.

"Hey, Ike sent me to help out over here. Where do you need me?" I asked Boyd. Boyd cast a confused look my way, but did not question Ike's orders.

"You know how to use that?" he asked, indicating my sword.

"No, not really."

"Great, a newbie. Just stay back and protect Rhys. We can handle the fight here a lot better if we don't have to worry about our healer getting killed," Boyd ordered. Sweet, now I don't have to show them how woefully inept I am in a fight, and I should be relatively safe since I'm next to a healer. I headed for Rhys, who was now back closer to the entrance of the inner keep. Boyd and Mia took positions flanking their entrance to the courtyard, and I could see Ike and Ilyana guarding the entrance on the other side. Two mounted knights (Titania and Oscar) were stationed at the front gate, while a mage in a dark robe (that must be Soren) stood in the center of the courtyard, ready to send spells wherever help was needed most.

Surprisingly, the first to attack were Oscar and Titania. Rather than waiting for Daein to reach the fort, they charged out the front gate to meet a force of cavalry at least three times their number. A glorious but foolhardy move, I thought. I cringed, anticipating a complete slaughter. Much to my surprise, however, the initial clash left several Daeins dead and the rest in disorder. The two horsmen routed the enemy cavalry in mere seconds, sending the lone survivor running back to the woods. In fact, all around me the battle seemed to be going well. Boyd and Mia had stricken down the first few soldiers to enter the courtyard and were, with the assistance of Soren, easily holding off the rest of the Daeins on that side. Ilyana's thunder spells were being put to desvastating effect on the Daeins charging Ike, killing several and jolting the others making them easy pickings for the mercenary leader. Oscar and Titania were a good distance away from the gate by now, scattering the few soldiers that remained to oppose them and making a beeline for the enemy general. He blew on his horn again, calling yet more troops from the woods to renew the assault, but he was cut short as Titania's axe clove his helm in two. Wow, the Greil Mercenaries were awesome in the game, but seeing them now I understood that the game didn't even come close to doing them justice. Despite this, however, the Daeins just kept coming, swarming the fort from all sides.

I was so distracted by the battle that I failed to notice a lone Daein soldier slip throught the now undefended front gate. Recognizing me he gave an enraged shout, something along the lines of "Traitorous dog!" and charged. With the keep at my back I had nowhere to run, so I readied my sword as best I could. I swung as he neared, deflecting his spear harmlessly to the left. Undeterred, he continued on, slamming me up against the wall with his shield. Ouch, I definitely felt at least one rib crack with the impact, although adrenaline kept the worst of the pain at bay. The impact left us tangled with both of our weapons out to the side. I desperately tried to free up my sword arm while he struggled to bring his lance in line for the kill.

There was a sudden crack of thunder, and the soldier was launched off the the side. I looked toward the source of the bolt to see Ilyana had turned away from her own battle momentarily to save me. The distraction cost her, though; Even as I nodded my thanks, she cried out in pain and fell, an arrow in her back. Forgetting my own injury for the moment, I ran over. When I reached her, she was struggling to get to her feet.

"Get her into the keep. She can't do any more good here," Ike ordered. Putting her good arm over my shoulder, I helped her to the safety of the keep. Soren came over to back Ike up.

All around me now, I could see the battle starting to turn in Daein's favor as more and more soldiers joined the fray. Titania was riding back though the front gate with Oscar draped over the back of her horse and enemies swarming through the gate behind her. Without Soren's assistance, Boyd and Mia were slowly being driven back by the press of Daein troops, and Ike and Soren were being similarly beaten back on the other side of the courtyard. I pushed through the doors of the keep, with Titania and Rhys carrying Oscar in behind me. Ike, Soren, Boyd and Mia formed up around the door to hold off the enemies.

Inside, a boy and a girl who looked to be in their mid teens had already cleared off a table for the wounded. Titania laid Oscar down on it, and then rushed back out to rejoin the battle. Rhys immediately began to heal him wth his staff. I glanced at his wounds as I steered Ilyana towards a chair. I couldn't see where he'd been hit, but there was a lot of blood on his lower abdomen, and his leg was sitting at an strange angle. Knowing there was little I could do to help there, I focused on Ilyana's wound. The arrow had hit her in the left shoulder, just above the shoulder blade, which was good, but it may still have lodged itself in her clavicle, which would make extracting it difficult. There was no visible exit wound on the front of her shoulder, but when I moved the sleeve of her shirt aside I could just see the tip of the arrow poking through the skin.

"H-how bad is it?" she asked.

"It doesn't look too bad." Actually, It was better than not too bad; The arrow had gone right between the shoulderblade and the clavicle, and while the wound would make moving the arm painful, it had completely missed the subclavian artery and its associated vein. This meant she was more or less safe... well as safe as one can be when wounded and surrounded by a horde of bloodthirsty Daein soldiers. Putting on my best 'I know what I'm doing' voice, I continued. "I'm going to have to push the arrow through so I can remove the arrowhead, alright? This is gonna hurt. A lot."

She gritted her teeth and nodded her agreement. Wow, brave. Strange how I'm not nervous talking to a girl in a crisis, and yet I know that if I survive this I'll be right back to blushing and stammering. Ugh, focus Adam. Returning my attention to the arrow, I gave it a tentative push, eliciting a grunt of pain but little movement. Damn, I'm really gonna have to push this thing hard.

"Alright I'm gonna push it through. On three, you ready?" she nodded. Gosh it feels bad to lie, but it's for the best. Anticipaton would only make the pain worse. "One..." and I pushed. She screamed for a second, and promptly passed out from the pain. Good. The arrowhead was now completely out. It was barbed, as I had feared, which means it would have caused a ton of damage if I had tried to pull it out. I removed the arrowhead, and then pulled the shaft from the wound. The young girl came over with a clean cloth and some bandages, and began to help me clean the wound. Wow, she looks way too young to be wearing a skirt that short. I mean, it's one thing when someone Ilyana's age wears that, but she looks to be only about fourteen or fifteen. I wonder if her parents know she's dressing like that. Then again, kids that age dress way worse in highschool... Ugh FOCUS ADAM!

"You must be the new people Rhys mentionned," she said in an inexplicably cheerful tone. "I'm Mist."

"I'm Adam." I tried to say more, to thank her for the her help, but I suddenly found I was having difficulty drawing breath. Damn broken ribs.

"Hey, you don't look so good. Why don't you go take a seat and rest for a bit," Mist suggested.

"Yeah, thanks," I said as I headed for a chair by the door. As I neared it however, there came the sound of a particularily nasty clash in the courtyard. Amidst the chorus of screams and growls, I made out one yell clearly.

"We're being overrun! Retrea- argh!"

Ohgod they lost. Ike and the others must've been killed, I thought. In front of me, the door began to open. Faced with certain death, I did the only thing I could think of; I fainted dead away.

Author's note

So that's the end of chapter one. Love it? Hate it? Let me know in the reviews. I realized as I was reading through this that the tone kinda changes a lot throughout the chapter, and I'm not sure that everyone is perfectly in character, but it's my first attempt at writing fiction so I'm sure things will get better with time. Oh, and don't worry, the Greil Mercenaries are not dead. I'm sure any fans of the game know what actually happened at the end, so that was more for those who may not know the plot of the game. I am already working on chapter two, but I don't know when it will be ready. It will not have any battles, but there may be another fight in chapter three.

The title is not very good, I know. It was the best I could come up with after two weeks of being done the first chapter but not knowing what to call the story. I may leave it as is, or I may change it later if I think of something better.

I know that one of the main concerns with new writers, aside from bad writing, Mary Sues, and ooc characters, is that they tend to abandon stories. I can assure you right now that this will not happen with me, barring death irl. Even should I decide to end the story early (and I have no intention of doing so), I would write an ending for you guys. 'Cause I love you :D.

Lastly, while I can upload stories, I may not be able to communicate with any readers/reviewers because of a problem I'm having with the site. I can log on, but whenever I try to go anywhere on the website other than my profile, I am automatically logged out. I don't know why. I tried contacting their support people, but they ignored me. So in summary, I cannot contact anyone, review stories, or find beta readers. If anyone has a solution, please let me know in a review or in a message or something. I would greatly appreciate it. And if you don't know a solution, but you have an opinion on the chapter, then review anyway. Thanks!


	2. Chapter 2

Author's notes

Hello again. Yes, I am doing another long-winded author's note. Just kidding, I'll try to keep it short. I just wanted to thank all the people who have read and reviewed this story. I honestly did not expect to get any hits in the first few weeks, let alone 3 reviews and 1 PM within 24 hours of posting the story. You guys have made my day. So if you read, reviewed, subscribed or messaged me I send hugs. Bro-hugs. Don't make it weird.

Disclaimer: I don't own Fire Emblem or its characters, settings and plots. Nor do I own anything that I may make reference to over the course of the story. Honestly, I'm a college student, I own almost nothing. There, I think that covers it.

Chapter 2

The Obligatory Chapter in Which They Try to Train Me

"C'mon, wake up! You've been sleeping for hours," a voice called, bringing me out of my slumber. Asshole.

"Mfghm shuddup five more minutes..." I groaned. I don't even have class today, there's no hurry. Or perhaps there was, I found out as a bucket of cold water was dumped over my head. "WHAT THE HELL MAN? FUCK OFF!" I screamed. God, it's cold. I opened my eyes to see which of my parents I could thank for the rude awakening, only to see some guy with black hair holding a bucket. And I was in the main hall of Castle Gebal. Oh shit, right, I'm in Tellius. There was a battle. I fainted. Gorramit I hate mornings.

"Wakey wakey princess," Soren said, his voice dripping with sarcasm. More seriously, he added "The Commander wants to speak with you."

"Yeah, sure, whatever... wait you guys are ALIVE?" I had thought everyone had been killed... that's why I fainted in the first place. Only they're alive now, so I kinda feel like an idiot.

"Evidently. Now go speak with Ike already." Sarcastic jerk. With no further comments, he pointed to the other side of the room where Ike sat talking with two people I did not recognize. As I headed over, I realized that my chest no longer hurt. Rhys must have healed me. I really should thank him when I get the chance.

"I take it we won after all," I said as I approached.

"Yeah we did, thanks to some Gallian reinforcements," Ike explained, indicating the other two people with him. One was a large man, and the other was a short woman who was wearing - oh great - a really short skirt. Seriously? It. Makes. Me. Nervous! Why can't the girls around here just wear pants? Fortunately, Ike had finished his conversation and dismissed the two laguz. "Now, I wanted to talk with you about... did you really need to do that Soren?"

"You said you wanted to speak with him when he was concious. It seemed the most efficient way to wake him up."

Ike just shook his head, trying (and failing) to surpress a look of amusement. "Don't worry, we'll get you some new clothes. I believe Soren has volunteered to get those for you now," he said with a pointed look at the mage. Soren stalked off, grumbling. "Don't mind him. We've been through a lot here, so we're all kind of on edge. Now, I wanted to ask you some questions. Who are you and what do you intend to do now that the battle is over?"

Haha, talk about being direct and to the point. I like this guy. "I really have nowhere else to go, so if you guys would let me stay with you for now, that would be great." Now, what do I tell him about myself? The truth would just make everyone think I'm crazy. Amnesia, perhaps? That could work, but I'd have to very careful about what I say to keep the lie going...

Seeing my hesitation, Ike added "We are protecting someone very important to Crimea. If you want to stay with us, then I need to know that I can trust you. So give me the truth."

"...Alright, but you're gonna think I'm crazy. Y'see, I'm not from Tellius. You've probably never even heard of the place I'm from."

"Try me."

"You ever heard of Canada?" Ike shook his head. "That's 'cause it's on a completely different world." I proceeded to explain what had happened the night before. Ike seemed particularily interested in the runes that had appeared around me, but I could not tell why. I left out the fact that there was a game based on Tellius and that I had a rough idea of how the war would go; That little revelation could wait. "So basically, I have no idea how I got here or how to get home." Here it comes. He's gonna think I'm completely nuts and kick me out.

"That's a pretty strange story, but I believe you. It certainly explains why you're dressed so strangely." That's a relief. "You're in luck, too. We recently lost several members of the company..." Ike's expression darkened at this. Right, I had forgotten; Greil had probably just died a few days ago and Shinon and Gatrie left immediatley after Ike took command. "...so we need some new recruits. If you're willing to join, we would be glad to have you. You are welcome to stay with us, at least until we reach Castle Gallia. From there, you can decide what you want to do."

"Sounds good. I will warn you, though, that I'm not much use in a fight."

"It's already taken care of. Deputy Commander Titania is out in the courtyard now. I told her I might be sending you out for training earlier. And even if you aren't good with a sword, Mist said you might have potential as a healer."

"But, I wasn't... you already... What?" So I sat through all that questionning and he had already decided to recruit me?

Ike laughed a bit at this. "Ilyana and Mist both already vouched for you. I was going to let you travel with us if you wanted, I just had to be sure that I could trust you." At this moment, Soren finally showed up with a change of clothes for me. "Ah, good. There's a room over there where you can change, then just head out to the courtyard and Titania will take care of you. Welcome to the Greil Mercenaries."

"Th-thank you," WHAAAT? I'm an official member of the mercenaries. Temporarily, anyway. That was easy. And awesome.

As I headed off to change, I overheard Soren grumbling to Ike. "Great, we're taking in strays now. Perhaps next, I could ask the merchants to set up an orphanage in one of the wagons." Okay, maybe not so awesome if I'm stuck in a company with that asshole.

I changed quickly into my new clothes. They were nothing special, just a plain pair of pants, a belt, and a dark, long-sleeved shirt, but at least they were dry. I headed out into the courtyard. Outside, it had finally stopped raining. I could see Titania supervising Boyd while he did his practice swings, as Mist and Mia sat in the shade of the wall and watched. They were obviously quite amused by the lecture Boyd was getting for his laziness. Noticing me, Titania stopped berating him and turned to me with a scary expression on her face. Really scary.

"Ah, good. Ike told me you would be out to train. Since Boyd can't seem to focus without a sparring partner, how about you two spar and we'll see if you have any potential as a soldier."

Oh bugger. We may be the same height, but Boyd has at least twenty or thirty pounds on me. I am so boned. I headed for a weapon rack standing against the wall near Mist and grabbed a practice sword. Fortunately it was fairly light, meaning I would have little trouble swinging it. I moved back to the sparring area and squared off against Boyd. Here goes. I have a sword so that means I have an advantage against axes, right? Increased hit chance and damage. Oh, how I wish game statistics worked in real life. Heck, while I'm wishing, I wish there weren't so many people here to watch. And I wish I had some food, like eggs with bacon and potatoes mmmm... Ugh FOCUS ADAM!

WHACK! Taking advantage of my distraction, Boyd came in and smacked the flat of his axe into my stomach, blasting the air from my lungs and dropping me unceremoniously to the ground. A chorus of laughter from Mist and Mia only added to my embarrasment.

"Adam, focus!" Titania called out. "If that were a real weapon you would be dead."

"Owww. Yep, lesson learned," I grunted. We squared off again. This time when Boyd charged I was ready, bringing my blade up to block his vicious strike. The weapons clashed and I just barely held onto my sword, the impact sending vibrations all the way up my arm. I backpedaled, barely deflecting the next two strikes. Boyd brought his axe across in a two-handed sweep, sending my sword flying out of my weakened grip. He then reversed his momentum and smashed the axe into my gut. Again. Ow.

"Better. Again!" Titania ordered. Fuck.

The sparring continued for at least a half hour, with me always ending up disarmed or smacked. Unfortunately, I was showing absolutely no signs of improvement; In fact, the more tired I got the worse I fought. Often Boyd would disarm me with a single blow, and I could see the girls by the wall literaly facepalming as they watched.

"Give up yet?" Boyd asked, obviously tired of the one-sided fight. Part of me certainly wanted to. My bruises had bruises, and my self-esteem was pretty much non-existant at this point, but I wasn't going to give up. Not until I landed a hit.

"One more," I grunted. Gotta land a hit. Boyd charged, his axe coming down in a two-handed overhead strike that would surely blast the sword out of my hands when I blocked. Trying a different tactic, I countered with a two handed swing of my own, swinging left to right while stepping to my left instead of blocking. My strike did what I had intended, deflecting the axe down and to the right, leaving Boyd wide open as his momentum brought him right beside me. Unfortunately, my blade was also down and to right, meaning I couldn't hit him with it. Determined to redeem myself at least a bit, I struck out with my elbow, smashing Boyd in the face. He recoiled instantly, one hand going to his nose. Yes, victory is MINE! I thought, until I realized that his axe was no longer tangled with my sword. Dammit.

SMACK.

"Oh man, Boyd, he got you good!" Mist called out tauntingly. Mia was nearly dying of laughter. It was only then that I realized Boyd's nose was flat against his cheek.

"Thuddup, Mitht! I thtill won," Boyd grumbled, holding his broken nose. Sadly for him, this only made the two girls laugh louder.

"Oh shit, sorry! I didn't mean to- you alright?" I stammered. I didn't want to hurt him, I just wanted to hit him. I had only good inten- okay, I had mostly not-evil intentions. I never wanted to break his nose. Ooooh I'm a terrible person.

"I'b okay, I'b okay."

Titania ordered Mist to take Boyd into the keep and heal his nose. After they were gone, I approached her, dreading her evaluation of my skills (or lack thereof).

"So, how'd I do?"

"Honestly? You need a lot more training if you're ever going to survive a real battle." Yeah, that's pretty much what I expected. I must have looked pretty glum, because she added "But if that move you pulled at the end is any indication, you might have some potential. Now get yourself back inside. There's warm food on the fire and I imagine you're pretty hungry after that training." She patted me on the shoulder, then headed into the keep after Boyd. Yay, I have potential, even though I kinda suck right now. And Titania may be scary, but she really does act like the mother of the company.

I returned to the keep as Titania had suggested. She was right; I hadn't eaten anything since lunch the day before and after all that fighting and training, I was starving. Luckily for me, there was a large pot filled with soup over the fire at the end of the hall, near the tables where the wounded had been treated just few hours before. Ilyana was at a table next to the pot, a massive bowl in front of her. The food must have been good, considering the rate at which she was eating it. I grabbed a bowl and took a seat at the table next to her. Much as I didn't relish the thought of eating next to her, the only other table still had blood on it. My germaphobia always beats my fear of girls. Besides, she was kind of my patient, so I felt obligated to check on her.

"H-hey, umm how's your shoulder doin?"

"Oh, hi. Yes, my shoulder is just fine now. Thank you, ummm... Phil? Jim?"

"Close enough. I, uh, I guess I owe you thanks too. You kinda saved my life in that battle."

"Oh, that was no problem. I always make a point of protecting people who like to give me food. Speaking of which, since you aren't eating that bowl of soup yet..."

"No. Mine!" She may be cute, but I'm hungry. I dug into the food and instantly regreted it. Dear God it's vile. I guess with Oscar wounded, the food here is going to be sub-par for a while.

"Actually, I was just going to warn you about that..."

Just as I prepared to spit the putrid concotion back into my bowl, Mist came and sat down at the table with us. "So how do you guys like the soup I made?" I swallowed quickly, forcing myself not to gag.

"It's good, it just might need some seasoning or something." Oh darn, she looks like she's going to cry. I quickly added "But it's still a lovely... soup-thing."

Mist beamed. "That's good. Normally the others just complain about my cooking." I can't imagine why. She stood up and turned away as if to leave. Seeing this, I started to empty my bowl onto the floor. Mist turned back suddenly, though, and sat down again. Not wanting to offend her, I ate another spoonful. "Before I go, is it true that you aren't from Tellius?"

I see Ike wasted no time telling everyone. "Yes, it's true." I explained how I was from a different world and how the mysterious lights had transported me here. When I was done, they were both staring at me in disbelief. "I know it sounds crazy, but it's true."

"Well, it doesn't sound like you're lying, so I guess I believe you," Ilyana said. Mist nodded her agreement.

"So, what did you do in your world?" Mist asked.

"I was still just a student. I was trying to get into health care."

"Oh, so you were going to be a priest, kinda like Rhys," Mist said.

I chuckled a bit at that. "No, I am definitely not a priest."

"But you still used magic, right?"

"No, there is no magic where I'm from."

Mist seemed genuinely puzzeled by this statement. "Then... how do you heal people?"

"We use more... physical means. Like surgery." Mist still looked confused. I guess they don't really need surgery when they have staves. "In extreme cases, we cut people open, fix them, and then close them up." Oh, she looks like she's going to puke. I would feel bad if she hadn't made me eat that soup. Payback's a bitch.

"That's... horrible."

"While we're on the topic of healing, where's Rhys? I've been meaning to thank him for fixing my ribs."

"Oh, he's still with Oscar. He wanted to keep an eye on him while he recovered," Mist explained. "But if you want to thank the person who healed you, that would be me. You're welcome!"

"Well, thanks kiddo. I guess I owe you one."

At that moment, Rhys and Ike emerged from one of the side rooms. Taking a position at one end of the hall, Ike turned to address the mercenaries, who were by now all here (minus Oscar of course).

"Everyone, Rhys has just informed me that Oscar is stable and can be moved safely." An audible sigh of relief passed through those gathered. "Which means we can continue with our mission. Pack your things, we leave for Castle Gallia in ten minutes."

Well, here goes. Castle Gallia, here I come.

Author's Note - So I know I said that I would have this posted last week, but it turns out I lied. It was a good thing though, trust me. Much as I don't think this was as good as the first chapter, it is much better than the shit that I had ready for Friday. I would have had more time to write but I was watching the Euro and working and I just got Dragon Age 2 and I had gardening to do and the spring festival was on LOTRO, so I was a little distracted.

I know that this was kind of a fluff chapter, but I thought it was necessary. I tried to make it interesting but I won't know if I succeeded until I hear your opinions, so please review and let me know what you think, good or bad. Again, I am new so while I apologize to anyone who does not like the chapter, please bear with me while I get the hang of this whole writing thing. Seeya!


	3. Chapter 3

Author's Note - I apologize in advance for the bad pun in the chapter title. It was too perfect, I had to do it. I love pirates. Sorry again that there is so much time between updates, but the Euro is on (GO SPAIN!). Once again, thank you everyone who read and/or reviewed.

Chapter 3

Pirates ARRR Scary!

Well, it would seem marching is definitely the least glamorous part of being a mercenary, I thought as I trudged along the trail. Despite the rain earlier it was still humid, and once the sun came out the heat was nearly unbearable. Although I was just wearing light pants, traveling boots and a shirt, I was sweating like a pig in no time. I was very glad I did not take the chainmail Boyd had jokingly offered me "to protect you while I'm kicking your ass in training." I made a point of finding a fully enclosed helm in the company stores to offer him as nose protection. All ribbing aside, after a day or so of marching there was at least a small degree of respect and cameraderie between us. I was not as lonely as I had feared I would be in this company, despite my slight social awkwardness.

"So, explain this to me again. You're from a different world... did you come here on a ship?" Boyd asked, scratching his head in confusion as we plodded along next to one of the wagons on our second day of travelling. Everyone had become much more talkative as we neared the sea that day, the breeze coming off the water cooling us down.

"Naw, dude, I came here with some kinda magic-" I tried to explain.

"So, a magic ship?"

"No, just some lights."

"...You're messing with me. Seriously, where are you from?"

"Earth."

"You're from the ground?"

"A world called Earth. It's not a creative name, but..."

"Aha, you lie! I've never heard of a continent called Earth."

Wow, big facepalm. Condescendingly, I explained "That's because my world is not another continent. And besides, all of the other continents on this world were wiped out by the goddess's Great Flood, right? Therefore, my world must be completely separate from this one."

"Ohhh, okay gotcha. Wait a second, if you're not from this world how did you know about the Great Flood?" Boyd asked, suddenly suspicious.

Oops, that was careless of me. "I, uh read a book at the fort, y'know to familiarize myself with this place a bit," I lied. I really need to be more careful with what I say.

Luckily for me, the mention of books seemed to make Boyd lose interest in the conversation. "Ugh, books are such a waste of time."

I laughed. "Why am I not surprised to hear that coming from you? Your little brother is right, you're a complete meathead." Yay, he bought it. Thank goodness for meatheads.

"And yet which one of us is the better fighter? Oh right, that's me," Boyd shot back, grinning. A sudden shout from the two laguz who were on point put an abrupt end to our conversation. "Sit tight, I'm gonna go see what's happening," Boyd said, a worried look on his face as he jogged off. Once he was gone, someone on the wagon cleared their throat. I looked up to see Soren had been riding in the wagon next to me the whole time.

"There were only a few books in that castle, and I read them all. Not a single one mentionned the flood." Shit. Busted.

"Maybe I found a book you didn't."

"Bullshit. I don't know what you're hidding, but I've got my eye on you." At that moment Boyd came running back.

"Daein soldiers on the path ahead! Ike needs everyone up front, c'mon!" Our argument forgotten (for now), the three of us started running to where the other mercenaries were assembling. A pair of voices behind us stopped Boyd and I in our tracks, however.

"Wait, we're coming too." Boyd and I turned to saw Mist and Rolf climbing out of one of the wagons. Mist held a staff while Rolf was armed with a bow.

"No, I meant everyone as in us, and not you guys. Fighters only. Now get back in the wagon," Boyd said impatiently.

"We can fight!" Rolf protested.

"Yeah, Ike's letting _him_ go, and he's terrible," Mist said, indicating me.

"Thanks," I replied sarcastically.

"Well fine, you can ask Ike. He'll tell you the same thing I did," Boyd conceded.

When we reached the rest of the mercenaries, Mist pulled Ike aside to talk. I didn't hear what she said, but whatever it was it seemed to persuade him. Once that business was out of the way, Ike proceeded to explain the battle plan.

"This seems to be just a small force, and they are spread out in the forest and on the beach. I will take Titania, Boyd, Soren, Rhys and the laguz to engage their main strength in the forest. With any luck we can kill their general and send the rest running. Mia, take Adam and Ilyana and clear the beach. There is a small fishing village there and I don't want any of the villagers to come to harm." Mist elbowed him in the side. "Rolf and Mist will be with you as well," Ike added reluctantly. Mist and Rolf both grinned triumphantly. Beside me, though, Boyd looked like he was going to be sick, his face ashen as he watched his little brother prepare for battle.

"He'll be fine, don't worry," I said quietly, doing my best to reasure him.

"He-he's my little brother. And after what happened to Oscar, I am worried."

"For what it's worth, I'll watch out for him. I can't promise to be a very effective protector, but I'll try."

Boyd finally smiled a bit. "Thanks. Not sure why, but it does help to hear that. Good luck out there, friend."

"You too," I called as I headed to the beach. Great, I just promised to look out for someone when I can't even really fight on my own. Stupid, stupid stupid me.

As we moved onto the beach I saw that there really were only a few soldiers there, no more than ten or so. None were heavily armoured, and they were spread out between us and the houses further down the beach. As the only melee fighters, Mia and I both drew our swords and charged, hoping to keep the enemy away from our ranged fighters and Mist. I headed for the soldier closest to me, who by some cruel misfortune was wielding an axe. I really hope he doesn't disarm me like Boyd did. As he drew near, though, an arrow suddenly flew by me and embeded itself in his neck, sending him slumping to the ground at my feet just as I swung. When my wild swing hit nothing but air I stumbled off balance and crashed to the ground as well. Nice to see I still fail at combat, even after training yesterday.

I quickly regained my bearings, and looked up just in time to see a descending sword. I snapped my blade up and managed to deflect the sword into the sand. Not wanting to give this new attacker a second chance I kicked out, knocking his feet out from under him and dropped him on his rump. I got my feet under me and lunged with my sword, but the angle was awkward and he knocked it to the side. I let go of the sword and delivered a heavy punch to his jaw anyway, then drew a backup knife and tried to finish him while he was stunned. He caught my wrist just short of the kill, and we struggled.

For a second I had the advantage, but that was taken when he drove his knee into my gut. His muscles bulged as he fought my grip, and slowly but surely the knife came for my throat. I fought hard, putting every ounce of strength and determination I had into the fight, but it wasn't enough. I could hear chanting beside me, and realized that someone was casting a spell. A painful jolt passed through me, and suddenly there was no more pressure on the knife as the soldier flopped to the side, twitching.

"Are all the battles we fight together going to end this way?" Ilyana asked as she helped me to my feet.

"Hopefully not. And um, thanks. Again," I said, relieved. I really need to work on my fighting skills.

It was pretty quiet around me now, although I could still hear the clash of weapons coming from the forest. The battle on the beach - if it could be called a battle - was over, and I seemed to be the only one who had any difficulty. Mia had cut a bloody path to the village, and there were no shortage or corpses riddled with Rolf's arrows. The other three mercenaries were now a the entrance to the village, Rolf training his bow on the last Daein soldier. The coward had taken a laguz child hostage, hoping for a way out.

"Don't come any closer, or I'll cut her throat!" he screamed, panicked.

"You got him, Rolf?" Mia asked.

"Yup," the boy replied, focused intently on the soldier.

"Last chance to let the girl go!" Mia called to the man.

He laughed. "Not a chance, bitch!" Rolf's arrow took him in the eye. The child ran back to her mother screaming and scared out of her wits, but otherwise unharmed.

"Well, that was a nice happy ending," I said as I approached the dead body. I patted Rolf on the shoulder. "Good shot." And here I was, promising Boyd to keep Rolf safe, I thought. The way this kid fights, I almost feel sorry for the poor Daeins. Almost.

My chain of thought was interupted as I heard a song start up from the direction of the ocean. I looked in that direction, and what I saw nearly made me scream like a little girl. A large group of pirates approached, obviously intent on raiding the village.

"Guys, we got company!" I yelled. Shit, I had forgotten that there was a miniboss on this level in the game. Man I wish I had a game script or strategy guide to refer to.

"Shit!" Mia cursed, seeing the pirates as well. "There's too many. We need to get these villagers out of here."

"T-they're coming fast," Mist said, worry and fear evident in her voice. "The children can't move quickly enough, we need more time."

I had a choice, I knew. Without the villagers to slow us down, we would have no difficulty escaping, that was certain. But at the same time, these people would be at the mercy of the pirates, and since they did not seem to have much in the way of valuables (the village was obviously poor) they would not likely find any mercy beyond a quick death. It really wasn't a hard choice. "Get these people out of here." I said as I turned and headed towards the sea.

"What are you doing?" Ilyana called after me.

"Buying us more time," I called back. She has a point though, I thought. What the hell am I doing? I know I can't abandon the village, but how am I going to delay these guys for even a second? Oh well. I've cheated death at least two or three times these last few days, and only with Ilyana's help. She won't always be there, and I have no illusions about my odds of surviving this war. Might as well die doing something worthwhile, eh? Besides, I promised to keep Rolf safe, so I'm really just honouring my word right now.

As I approached, I was distracted from my morbid chain of thought by the pirates' song. It was quite catchy, and their voices were actually pretty good. The part I heard went something like:

_"Yar har ho! Yo ho har!_

_ Scallywags of the sea are we_

_ We fight like beast an' men do flee_

_ We earn our gold with axes bold..."_

The song trailed off when they saw me approach. Acting on impulse, I sheathed my sword and waved. I'm no good with a sword, so I may as well try bluffing.

"By Shanty Pete, who be this wee landlubber blockin' our way?" the leader, a hulking brute of a man, asked. Yup, there is no way I would last two seconds in battle with this guy.

"An' why's 'e human? This here's Gallia," a crewman chimed in.

"I've come to warn you off; Daein soldiers are swarming this area. You'd best be heading elsewhere." Not the best bluff considering how heavilly armed these guys were, but it was the best I could come up with.

"Bah! We gots no quarrel with them, we just be raidin' the fishin' villages for money an' loot. We earn our gold with axes bold!"

"Well good luck with that. The soldiers already cleaned out this village. There's not even a sinle copper left."

Hearing this, the captain sighed heavilly. "There's never any gold in these bloody Gallian fishing villages, not like the ones in Begnion. An' we canno' raid there with them pegasus knights always ready fer us. 'Ow's a pirate to make an honest living these days?"

"We could just take some o' them sub-humans. I 'ear they fetch a nice price in Begnion..." one of the crew suggested. Uh-oh, not the way I wanted this conversation to go. Fortunately, the captain became livid at the mere mention of slavery.

"Ye durned fool, I telled ye a hunnerd times! Cap'n Nedata ain't no bloody gutless SLAVER!" He screamed. Oh man, that struck a nerve.

"But Cap'n, we ain't 'ad no money in weeks." A chorous of agreeing "Yar"s came from the group of sailors.

"Well, y'know, you guys are pretty good singers. You could always sing for money." I suggested, desperate for a way to get this little parley away from the topic of slavery. Nedata actually looked thoughtful, though. Was he seriously considering it? My question was answered after only a few seconds.

"By Shanty Pete's hairy arse, this wee scallywag's right! We dunna need ta raid in Begnion when we can just sing our fearsome sea dog shanties. The gutless peasants'll be so terrified o' us, they'll throw the gold at us fer fear o' bein' gutted. Back to the ship boys; We're goin' ta Sienne!"

With a hearty "YAR!" they were off, back to their landing boats. Nedata paused and turned back to me. "I canno' reward ye rightly fer yer 'elp lad, but if I'm seein' ya again I might be able ta repay ye. May the wind e'er be at yer back." As the pirates left, only one thing went through my mind; What the fuck just happened?

"What the fuck just happened?" Ilyana asked. I started at the sound of her voice; I hadn't realized she was so close. She must have just arrived.

"I, uh... I think I convinced them to leave peacefully... And where did you come from? You scared the hell out of me."

"It looked like you might need rescuing... again. Guess I was wrong. Nice to see you aren't completely helpless," she joked.

"Umm, thanks? I guess..." Holy shit, I actually did something hepful! This is great. I should celebrate, I thought. Unfortunately, there was no time for that; The battle in the forest had finished, and Ike had everyone marching again in no time. Balls.

Author's Note - So, chapter three is done, and somehow Adam is still alive. Again, please review and let me know what you think; It really helps to motivate me.

I don't really know what an acceptable update schedule is on this site, but I'm trying to get these chapters out fairly quickly without sacrificing quality. I admit that this chapter wasn't exactly a thrilling battle, but at least poor Adam is improving somewhat. I do intend to have him become a decent swordsman eventually, and I hope that doesn't make him a Stu. For now, though, he will just be improving gradually. I also think that I'm writing Ilyana a little ooc, but I want her character to be a little more than just someone who is always weak from hunger so I'm willing to take the chance.

I would like to thank kenegi for pointing out that people were taking the whole "I'm from another world" thing too well. That is why I wrote that first part with Soren and Boyd questionning Adam, and there will be more about that in the next chapter. Also, the next chapter will probably be more serious than the last few chapters, and will explain a few things about how Adam got to Tellius.

As for the part with the pirates, I wrote it simply because I loved them in the game and was soooo sad that I had to kill them. So I fixed it, and now I feel better. I hope the pirate accents work and don't make it too difficult to understand. And yes, I do plan to bring them back later, it's a lot of fun to write them. Anyway, feel free to review, and if you have any questions, comments or you just wanna say something then don't hesitate to PM me. I will reply to everyone. Seeya later, readers!


	4. Chapter 4

Author's Note - Hello readers, here's the next chapter. Hopefully you guys enjoy it. There's not much action in this chapter, but it's not all fluff. I'm establishing stuff for plot and such. Again, thank you for reading and reviewing, you guys are awesome. I have taken people's advice and am slowing down my update rate so I don't make bad chapters. Hopefully this chapter will be a bit longer than the last two.

Oh yeah, I almost forgot. SPAIN WON THE EURO CUP YAAAAAAAAAYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYY:) I AM HAPPY.

Disclaimer: I own nothing, Fire Emblem belongs to Nintendo.

Chapter 4

Revelations

We arrived at Castle Gallia in the afternoon, perhaps four or five hours after the battle on the beach. Apparently a pegasus rider named Marcia joined us sometime during that battle, although with all the excitement it took me a few hours to notice the flying horse. Stupid me. My inatentiveness aside, the Gallian capital was truly spectacular, and definitely worth the long march. A towering mountaintop fortress that reached up into the heavens, it looked as if one could touch the clouds from the upper battlements. Unfortunately for us, that awesome height came with a price; It was a long walk up the mountainside to reach the gates, and the mercenaries were already tired from the battle earlier, especially me. It's not like I was really out of shape, it's just that I wasn't prepared for two days of walking. Our two laguz guides assured us that there would be rooms and food ready for us in the barracks though, so that helped get everyone moving.

Once inside the castle, Ike, Soren and Titania were ushered off to a meeting with the king and Princess Elincia. The rest of us were shown to a mess hall and given some much needed food. We ate quickly, and Rhys passed out the room assignments for our group. Once I was finished eating, I headed straight for my room, intent on getting some rest.

"Hey! Adam! Wait up!" Boyd called just as I reached the door. He already had a practice sword extended towards me when I turned around. "Deputy Commander says I gotta train, and I really don't wanna do practice swings on my own all evening."

I sighed, knowing that I needed the practice badly. "Alright fine, but just for an hour or so," I said, glancing longinly at my bed as we headed back out to the yard. "I'm fuckin' tired, man."

Outside, the sparring area was occupied by a pair of laguz soldiers who were sparring in their animal forms. Seeing that they were almost finished, I ran to one of the wagons and grabbed a training knife, shoving it into my belt as I returned to the sparring area. "It's a backup," I said in response to Boyd's quizical look. "Since I get disarmed so much."

"Oh. Good idea," Boyd replied then returned his attention to the laguz fighters. They were really impressive, with tons of strength and agility. One was smaller than the other though, and seemed to have taken a beating from his stronger opponent. The larger one moved in cautiously at first, batting away the others attacks before landing a vicious swipe on it's side, knocking the small cat over. Seeing his advantage the big one charged in, only to be thwarted when his not-so-injured opponent sprang to the side and flattened him with a tackle. In a moment his jaws were at the bigger cat's throat.

"Never assume you have won until your opponent is finished. It will get you killed in a real battle," the victor hissed at his opponent. "You still have much to learn."

With their training finished they reverted to their human forms and departed, leaving me more than a little freaked out. I had gotten used to the tails and ears on the two soldiers who accompanied us to the castle, but I had never seen them formshift. Seeing a someone transform like that was... unsettling. It was spectacular, but it would take some getting used to. Also, I didn't know they could speak while in kitty form... interesting.

Boyd proded me with his axe. "C'mon, you gonna stand there starring all day? Let's go!"

"Alright, alright. Geez." We squared off. "Don't worry, man. I'll try not to break anything this time." I taunted.

Boyd charged.

-later-

An hour later, we both returned to the barracks bruised and bloodied. I had lost count of the number of times I'd been beaten, but I had been giving almost as good as I got, and even won a few rounds thanks to my backup knife. I had to resort to punches at one point which left my knuckles bloody and sore as well, but it was worth it to see Boyd's nose flattened once again. I headed for my room, looking forward to finally being able to rest. Just as I opened the door, I felt a hand on my shoulder.

"Adam, come with me," Titania ordered. "The commander wants to speak with you." Fuck, I was so close I could almost feel the pillow. Titania led me to a meeting room across the courtyard from the barracks. Stifling a yawn as I entered, I noticed that it was not just Ike that I would be talking to; Soren, Rhys and the Princess were all seated around a large table that filled the room. As usual, Soren was glaring at me with open suspicion. Whatever was happening, I had a bad feeling about it.

"Good everyone's here," Ike said as Titania and I took our seats. "I hope I didn't disturb your rest."

"Nope, no, not at all," I lied.

"Good. This is our employer, Princess Elincia of Crimea," he continued, indicating the green-haired girl seated to my left. "The Greil Mercenaries will be escorting her to Begnion in hopes of getting aid for Crimea's liberation."

"Hello, nice to meet you," she said, smiling at me. Dammit, she's pretty. Can't talk. I tried to just smile normally and nod in response, but I don't think it worked very well since she looked a little weirded out. Stupid social anxiety.

"Anyway, now that we are all here, I think it is time we brought Elincia up to date on recent events. As we all know, Adam here is not from Tellius. Adam, would you describe again what happened the night you arrived?"

What the hell is going on? Why not just tell Elincia himself? I wondered. Nonetheless I obliged, first describing how I was from a separate world, then talking about the circle of symbols on the ground and the barrier of light that surrounded me. As I had promised myself, I left out the part where I was scared shitless by a tree. Nobody needs to hear about that. Ever. Soren interupted me when I was finished talking about the teleportation.

"This is ridiculous, warp magic can't cross dimensions. This is an obvious lie!" he exclaimed in frustration. "Ike, I can't believe you're buying this!"

"I wouldn't believe him, if I had not already seen that exact same magic with my own eyes," Ike calmly replied. A shocked silence filled the room, seeming louder than Soren's outburst.

"You- You knew about it? You know how I got here?" I accused. How could he keep that from me? I get that I'm new here, but that's kind of important.

"No, but I did see those symbols you described on the night my fa- the night Commander Greil was killed. The Black Knight fled using the same kind of warp magic."

"So he has ties to Daein, then?" Soren asked, small blades of wind dancing about his fingertips as he stood. I rose and put my hand on the hilt of my dagger, having absolutely no patience for Soren's suspicions. If he wanted to try to kill me, I would show him just how much I have learned since arriving here. I would probably still die, but I was too tired and grouchy to care.

Ike gestured for us both to sit back down. "No Soren, he really is from another world, and I can prove that if you refrain from killing each other for a few more minutes. Rhys, tell them what you told me earlier."

The poor priest was obviously a little shaken by the fact that Soren and I had nearly come to blows, but he steadied his nerves and spoke. "W-well, the barrier Adam described might have been a Shine Barrier, and if it had been combined with warp magic well..."

"The combination of transport magic with a magic that is inherently restrictive would make it extremely unstable. Under the right conditions, it could be transdimensional," Soren finished, suddenly intruiged. "But that's purely theoretical. I know, I've studied with mages from Begnion."

"Obviously Daein has gotten warp powder of their own, and there are rumors of extreme magical experimentation..." Rhys countered.

"Impossible. Even if there were a way to combine those two magics -and there isn't- the result would be potentially catastrophic; We're talkng about a tear in the fabric of the universe itself. You would have to be completely reckless and mad to even consider it." Soren paused as Ike gave him a pointed look. "...Which is exactly how Daein has been acting. If they found a way to do it, I would not put it past them," Soren allowed.

"Well, then why Adam? What could Daein possibly want with him?" Titania asked.

"I've wondered that myself, but I think Adam's presence here is just an unlucky coincidence. This new magic is obviously good for abducting people, and Adam did appear right near our location. And Ilyana said the the Daeins who attacked us thought that Elincia was still with us..."

"So they were trying to steal her right out from under our noses, without realizing that they had created some portal that grabbed Adam instead," Soren reasoned. "I must say, they got off easy with that little experiment. They could very well have sucked themselves into the rift, instead of Adam."

"Then let's hope the bastards try again," I quipped, only partly joking. Let's see them try to survive in my world; That would be some great poetic justice.

"So then... what are we to do with Adam? He obviously can't get home with the same magic, since there is no way to predict what will happen," Titania asked.

"Whoa whoa, wait a sec here! I'm sure there's some way to reverse it, right? Right? C'mon you guys seem to know a lot about this. Rhys? Soren?" Rhys shook his head no, looking apologetic. Soren just looked at me like I was an idiot.

"I'm sorry, Adam," Rhys said. No way. I'm stuck here? This can't be happening.

"He is of little use to us, we should just leave him here when we leave," Soren, ever the pramatic one, suggested. Hey wait, I am NOT sitting this war out! No fucking way! Not if it means fighting Daein.

"Perhaps not," I said. This conversation has already been fucking with people's minds, so it might be the best time to divulge my secret. Looks like I'm not leaving this place, so I might as well make the best of it. "I haven't been completely honest with you guys. Y'see, I knew of this world before I came here. There are things, uh... written about Tellius where I come from, in particular about this war." I am not gonna try to explain videogames. Too complicated. My, my, everyone looks quite shocked. "It's true. I know how this war started, I know the countries on this continent, I know how this war could end. Hell, I even know stuff about you guys." I got some rather disbelieving expressions. To prove my point, I listed off some pretty personal stuff. "I know who your father was before he went to Crimea, Ike. Soren, I know that's not a tattoo on your forehead. And as far as I know Your Highness, the man you are worrying about right now is alive and well." Oooh, now they get it. Mind fucked!

"So... you know what will happen here in the future? That sounds pretty crazy, but then again I shouldn't be surprised; It seems everything we learn about you is crazy. If you truly know the future, then Daein's failure could actually be to our benefit," Ike wondered aloud.

"I know one possible outcome for the war, but I don't think that future is guaranteed. Nonetheless, I have an idea of what kinds of enemies you guys will face, and my knowledge may be useful in other ways. Well, if you let me come with you, that is."

"Why so eager to come along all of a sudden?" Titania asked. "By your own admission you're not very good in combat, and if you know all you claim to then you know that our road will not be a safe one."

"From the sounds of it, those Daein bastards have taken me away from everyone and everything I've ever cared about. I wouldn't mind the chance for a little payback." I may not be very good, but this is personal now.

Ike looked at me thoughtfully for a moment, then turned to Elincia. "We'll let our employer decide. What do you think, my lady?"

She considered me for a few moments, then said "Honestly, your tale is no more unlikely than my own; Most people do not even know that I exist, and I have nothing to prove my lineage. If you can help us then I am willing to trust you, as all these people have trusted me."

"Th-thank you, m'lady. Y-you will not regret this." Gah! Fucking stutter is back! I was doing so well...

"Welcome to the Greil Mercenaries, Adam. Permanently, this time," Ike said, smiling. "I think that concludes our business, you may all go get some rest now." A sigh of relief passed through the room.

"Oh, one more thing before you guys go," I said. "I would appreciate it if my history and knowledge could stay secret. It's pretty far-fetched and not everyone would take it as well as you have."

"That's understandable. As far as anyone outside of this group is concerned, you'll just be another mercenary, alright?" Ike said. I nodded my thanks, then left for my room.

I closed my door behind me and collapsed onto my bed, not even bothering to change my clothes. Between my exhaustion, residual tension from the meeting, and the realization that I might never see my friends and familly again, I was completely drained. I just wanted to sleep, and not worry about anything for a few hours.

Just as my eyes began to close, finally bringing the blissful nothing of sleep, there was a knock on my door. Seriously? What could they possibly want from me. I rolled over and pretended to be asleep, hoping they would go away. The knocking resumed, louder this time, accompainied by a quiet call of "Adam? Are you awake?" Ugh fuck my life. I got up and headed for the door. Fine, if they wanna wake me up that badly, I'll be sure to give'em a hard time about it.

"This had better be some kinda late night booty call, or I'm gonna be pissed," I grumbled as I opened the door, hoping to offend them and drive them off. Behind the door, however, was none other than Princess Elincia. "Oh shit!" I just said that to a princess? I figured it was Boyd or Ike or anyone else really. Not her. This is bad.

"Umm.. hi. What's a 'booty call'? I've never heard of it before..." she asked. Oh thank goodness they don't have the same slang here.

"Nuthin' don't worry 'bout it," I said hurriedly. "Waddaya want?"

"May I come in?" she asked. I nodded, and went to retrieve a chair for her. "I hope I did not wake you."

"No, not at all," I snapped sarcastically. Man I get cranky when I'm tired.

"Oh good." Wow, she totaly missed the sarcasm. " I just wanted to talk to you about the, uh... the future."

"Geoffrey's fine as far as I know. So is his sister and that obnoxious bearded Count Whatshisname. Great, glad that's outta the way bye seeya later goodnight!" Geez, if I have to sit through another long conversation, I'm gonna kill something.

"That's not what I meant. I just want to know..." she paused.

"Want to know what, Your Highness?" I asked impatiently.

"Will I be a good ruler?" she blurted out, blushing immediately and looking away. I suddenly felt kinda bad for being such a jerk; She's got a lot more to worry about than I ever will, like an entire army wanting nothing more than to present her head to their mad King. The last thing she needs right now is to worry that she'll be a terrible ruler.

"That depends on you. As I said before, the future is not fixed," I answered, softening my tone a bit. "You seem to be a kindhearted person, and you've certainly had some good examples to follow, notably your father and Commader Greil. Just remember that you serve the people of Crimea, and you should do fine. But then again I've never tried ruling a country, so what do I know?"

"Thank you, Sir Adam. I'm sorry to be questionning you like this, you've been through a lot too, have you not?"

"I'm fine, Your Highness. And I'm no Sir, just a mercenary." I'm not fine, not even close, but she doesn't need to hear that.

"That's good to hear." She turned and headed for the door as if to leave. Oh good, finally I can sleep. She paused at the door and turned back, crushing my hopes once again. Goddammit. "Did you have any familly? Back on your world, I mean."

I was trying not to think about that. "Y-yeah. Parents, two bratty sisters. A few good friends. I, uh, I guess I won't be seeing them again, will I?" Man, it hurt to say that. I closed my eyes, fighting the tears. I will not cry. At least I know they're safe; My familly gets no such luxury, just a missing son and brother that they'll never find. I swore once again to find a way to make Daein pay.

I suddenly felt arms around me. Is the princess... hugging me? "M-m'lady?"

"You looked like you needed a hug. It's okay."

"...I did. Umm, thanks," I hugged her back, taking whatever comfort I could find. Speaking of comfort, those fluffy shoulders on her dress are kinda like a pillow. So... comfortable... oh shit.

"Zzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzz..."

-the following morning-

We left Castle Gallia early in the morning, heading towards the Crimean border. The plan, Ike told us, was to find a ship in Crimea to take us to Begnion. As Crimea's parent nation, we hoped that their Apostle would grant us troops and funding to take back Crimea. Gallia had been unable to provide troops due to tense human-laguz relations, but the King had provided funds and supplies, as well as a couple of soldiers (Lethe and Mordecai) and a guide (Ranulf). More supplies meant we had more wagons, with room for everyone to ride rather than walk. Even better, Oscar had finally woken up last night. He was still in no condition to ride or fight, but upon hearing what Mist had been feeding everyone he took over as cook. And so that morning I found myself riding on a wagon with Boyd and Ilyana (who was busy finishing her fifth helping of Oscar's pancakes) with a full stomach and no food poisoning. It was a nice change.

Elincia, who was riding Oscar's horse until his leg healed, rode up next to my wagon. "Hi, Adam. You look well rested," she said, laughing.

"Yeah, sorry about that, Your Highness. And sorry I was such a jerk last night. I get really grouchy when I'm tired." Ooh hey, no stutter. Yay me!

"Oh, I did not mind. It was my fault for the 'late-night booty call,' as you put it. I just cannot believe that you fell asleep like that."

"Pfffftt!" Pancakes spewed out of Ilyana's mouth. I guess only Elincia doesn't understand slang terms. "You did WHAT?"

"Okay, whoa! Not what it looks like guys. I swear, this is a misunderstan- OWW stop smacking me Ilyana! I didn't do it!"

"She's the Princess! Our employer! You're so stupid!"

"Nice, man. Good job!" Boyd congratulated me with a hearty clap on the shoulder.

"I DIDN'T DO IT!"

"What did I say?" poor, confused Elincia asked. Ilyana waved her over and whispered in her ear. The princess's eyes went wide. "No no no, THAT did not happen." She looked at me. Oh man, if looks could kill... "Why would you say that? You.. you.. ugh!"

"Sorry! It was late, I was grouchy, so I made a dirty joke when I opened the door. I didn't know it was you!"

"You could have told me what it meant so I wouldn't go repeating it! Stop laughing, Boyd, it's not funny!"

"Yeah it is!" Boyd was crying he was laughing so much. Unable to help myself I joined in, and soon the four of us were laughing. After all, it was pretty damn funny.

"Alright, let's agree to just never speak of this again, okay?" I suggested. Everyone nodded their agreement except Boyd, who couldn't stop laughing. "Boyd?"

"Hell no! I gotta tell people about this." Ilyana smacked him. "Okay okay, maybe not."

"Good, I'd kinda like to forget- OWW dammit why'd you hit me again? I said I was sorry!"

"That's for making me spit out my food," Ilyana said indignantly.

Ike yelled from the front of the wagon train, interupting our converstion. "Hey, quiet down back there! We're past the border, so don't go giving away our position." We rode in silence after that, not wanting to anger the Commander.

"...You're still an idiot," Ilyana said after a few minutes.

"I know. You gonna go on about that all the way to Begnion?"

"Um, guys? Maybe Ike had a point..." Boyd said quietly as our wagon came over a hill. I followed his gaze towards the horizon, wondering what could possibly shut Boyd up. In the distance I could see a castle on a rise, perhaps two miles away. Flying above each of its towers was the red standard of Daein.

Word came up from the front of the column, spoken quietly. "Move the wagons into the woods. Mercenaries, dismount and regroup on the commander."

The wagons were hidden in five minutes, and the mercenaries were gathered and armed in six. Ranulf explained how the castle was a rumored prison for Crimean soldiers. The plan was to infiltrate the castle and release any prisoners, adding to our meager forces.

"I want two volunteers for scouting. Your job is to sneak in and release any prisonners, preferably without alerting the guards." Ike whispered once the plan was explained. "The rest of us will follow to secure the exit, or engage the guards if you're spotted. So, who are my scouts?"

"I'll go," I said after a moment.

Author's Note

Yay, small cliffhanger. Kind of. Don't worry, I plan to get started on the next chapter tomorrow. Just so you guys know I have updated my profile to include "Story Progress." I keep it up to date with my progress (or lack thereof) and an estimate of when the next chapter will be finished. So that way, you guys can check to see if I'm gettin shit done.

I know that there was no action in this, but obviously things will pick up in the next chapter. Also, just to clarify "Booty call" is a slang term for casual sex. Just in case you didn't already know. Oh yeah, I probably should've told kids not to read that. KIDS, DON"T READ THE LAST FEW SENTENCES THEY"RE OFFENSIVE!

Sorry about the long wait between updates, life got kinda crazy for me for a little while, but it's better now. Mostly. The Euro is over, so that frees up some time anyway. Spain won. I know I already said that, but it was awesome so I don't care. Sue me. Actually please don't I'm trying to save money to go to Brazil for FIFA 2014. Anyway, look for "Story Progress" in my profile to see when the next chapter will be out.

Anyway, please review and let me know what you think. Don't hesitate to PM me either, I'm always happy to hear from people. Also, there's a lot of characters in Fire Emblem, so let me know if you think I'm neglecting a character that you would like to see more of. Obviously some will be neglected (I almost completely forgot poor Marcia), but I will try. Seeya next time!


	5. Chapter 5

Author's Note

Ok things will be picking up a bit in this chapter, I promise. This starts right where the last chapter left off. Why not just include it in the last chapter stupid author, you ask? Goodness readers, you ask such silly questions. I did not include it because... I felt like it? I don't know... I just didn't. I changed the layout of the castle dungeon area thingy from the game, just cause I wanted the place to be bigger and have more hallways and such. Anyway, enjoy!

Disclaimer: I own nothing.

Chapter 5

Dungeon Break

"Haha that's funny," Boyd said in response to my volunteering.

"I'm serious." So maybe I'm in over my head, but I was always good at Splinter Cell games. Just stick to the shadows, and channel my inner Sam Fisher. Not too difficult, right? Too bad I don't have Grimsdottir or Lambert. Or a gun. That would help.

"If they catch you, you'll be facing a lot of guards," Ike warned. "I'm not certain that you could survive that..."

"Consider it extra incentive not to be spotted," I suggested.

"...Alright. Anyone else?" Ike asked

"Oh what the hell, I'll go," Boyd said. "We need at least one good fighter."

"Good, get any gear you need and get going. We'll give you a half hour head start. Good luck, and be careful."

Boyd and I said our goodbyes (just in case) and retrieved some dark cloaks from the stores, leaving behind trinkets, armor and anything else that would make too much noise. Once we were ready, we set off at a jog in the direction of the castle, slowing only once we could see it through the trees. Using some bushes at the tree line for cover, we surveyed the defences.

"Looks like it was a nasty battle to take this," I commented. An entire section of wall had been destroyed by artillery, and the burned remains of seige towers littered the field. Some ladders were propped against the walls, and a ram sat abandoned next to the shattered gates. The moat had been almost completely filled in to allow infantry to advance, and was now little more than a shallow ditch. There were bodies, too. The Daein dead had been gathered and buried near the gates, their swords marking the graves, but the Crimeans got no such treatment. Their bodies had all been burned in one great heap, and several heads were stuck on spears above the gate. "Poor bastards."

"Such nice, friendly folk these Daeins," Boyd commented dryly, eyeing the severed heads.

We began looking for a way in. The broken wall looked promising at first, but upon closer inspection I could see soldiers in the courtyard. No good going in through there. Movement on the eastern side of the castle caught my attention. Looking over, I saw a sentry emerge from a postern gate about one hundred meters from our current position. The soldier looked around warily, then turned to the wall to relieve himself. You gotta love it when guards get complacent.

"Hey, Boyd. Got a possible entrance, but we gotta move fast," I whispered, pointing to the postern. With his back to the field, we would likely not get a better shot at getting in unseen. We ran across the field, using the ruined seige towers to stay out of sight until we reached the moat. We stayed in the moat to close the rest of the distance, and hunkered down to wait once we were close enough. I grabbed a good sized rock, thinking it would be quieter to simply knock the guard out than to kill him.

Once the soldier was finished, he went to the door and called softly. It was opened by a second guard, who stood in the doorway for a second chastizing his friend for drinking so much the night before. They laughed and started to go back inside. Knowing it was now or never, we ran silently up behind them. I whistled, drawing the first man's attention, and smashed my rock into his face as he turned, laying him low before he could even cry out. His friend spun at the sound of the impact, but was silenced as well when Boyd bulled into the door, crushing him against the doorjamb. We paused, waiting for the cries of alarm, but none came. No one had seen or heard us. We both let out a sigh of relief, then slipped through the door. I made sure to leave my rock in the doorway, keeping the postern open so the other mercenaries could use the entrance if they had to.

Inside, the (now unmanned) guard post had two doors: one large one leading to the courtyard, and a smaller one leading to a stairwell. We went down the stairs, assuming the prisoners would be kept in the lower levels. Below, we found a long tunnel going in the direction of the keep, no doubt a way to bring soldiers surreptitiously to the postern. The first few rooms we found were unguarded and contained supplies, although distant footsteps told us that guards were on patrol. We crept along, keeping to the shadows as we searched for any sign of prisoners. After only a few minutes, we came upon the first guarded room; A lone guard sat at a table, and I could just barely see bars behind him. We crept as close to the doorway as we dared, being careful to stay out of the torchlight that shone from within, but footsteps down the hallway sent us scrambling back for cover. Fortuately there were alcoves in the walls that were just big enough to hide in. I drew my dagger, but kept it against my arm so the blade would not reflect any light. The footsteps drew closer and a patrolling guard came into sight, but he took no notice of us. I started to motion for Boyd to let him pass, but before I could get his attention he stepped out and swung his axe, splitting the unfortunate guard's helm and skull. His armor clattered noisily as he fell.

"That you, Will?" a voice called from inside the room. There was a scrape of wood on stone as the guard stood up, followed by heavy footsteps approaching the door. Reacting quickly, Boyd wrenched his axe from the dead body and threw just as the man got to the doorway. The axe nearly decapitated him, and he died with little more than a gurgle.

"Dude, what part of 'stealthy' did you not understand?" I whispered as we stashed the bodies in the alcoves.

"Hey, no one heard and now we can release the prisoners. I'm stealthy and effective," he gloated, obviously pleased with himself. I just rolled my eyes and went back to searching the bodies for keys. Sure enough, the man who had been guarding the cell had a few keys on his belt. I took them all and went into the room. There were several cells along the far wall, but only one was occupied I tried the keys until I found one that worked and swung the door open as quietly as I could. The sole occupant of the cell, a priest by the looks of it, exited cautiously. He looked familliar. Oh right, it's that Sephiran dude.

"Thank you, young man. After I was arrested by those Daeins I feared that I would never leave this place," the priest said.

"No problem. Mind my asking what you're doin in a prison for captured soldiers? Seems a strange place for a priest," Boyd inquired.

"I am in here because I was healing Crimean soldiers. Our Daein hosts did not take kindly to that."

"You were with soldiers?" I asked. There were no other prisonners here, and I worried that there might not be any soldiers left to rescue... "Were they captured too? Or killed?"

"The soldiers I was with were captured, yes. They were taken down the corridor from this room, but I did not see where they went after that. I know not if any still live, though. The screams I've heard from down there..." He shuddered. "Only dying men make such a sound."

"Thank you. If any are still living, we'll find them. Follow the hall that way until you find a stairwell, take the stairs up to the first level and there is an unguarded door that will get you to safety. Oh, and leave the door open, we have friends coming," I said.

"Thank you again, boys. I will not forget your kindness."

After he was gone, we continued along the hall. It split off into two corridors not far from where we'd freed Sephiran.

"Well, which way do we go?" Boyd asked me, looking back and forth between the two halls.

"Hey, since when am I the one in charge?"

"Since you volunteered first. Which way?"

"...Alright, well there's not much time 'till the others show up, and I'd rather be done before any alarm is sounded or any more prisonners are killed... we gotta split up. Take the right fork, meet back here in ten minutes or less." Boyd started to go, but I stopped him. "And Boyd, remember; We're here to rescue prisonners quietly, not kill every guard we see. Be careful."

"Sir, yes sir!" Boyd said, saluting mockingly before trotting off. I just chuckled and shook my head helplessly.

I walked carefully, keeping close to the wall and checking every corner. Fortunately the only torches down here were in the rooms occupied by guards or carried by patrols, so there was ample shadow to conceal me. The hallway I had chosen had rooms on each side at regular intervals, most of which just held supplies. Once again the room with prisoners, or at least cells that once held prisonners, was the only lit room. Flat against the wall, I approached the door and peeked in. There was only one tired-looking guard, but he seemed to be guarding nothing; All of the cells looked empty. I was about to leave when a shadow in one of the cells moved. I paused, wondering if it was just some trick of the light, but it moved again and groaned. This time I could see it clearly enough to tell that it was human.

I immediately began to examine the room, looking for some way to eliminate the guard without making too much noise. There was a torture rack near the door (no doubt the source of those screams the monk was talking about) that could provide some cover and allow me to close the distance. The guard was wearing little armor and his spear was leaning against the wall a few feet to the side, so I would have little difficutly killing him. I just needed a way to do it quietly... I was in luck; As I sat there planning the guard grew tired of the noise the prisonner was making and wandered over to their cell.

"Hey quiet down in there! I was trying to catch some sleep," he griped. Seizing the opportunity I snuck up behind him, dagger drawn. Here goes, I thought. Time to pay some Daein scum back for leaving me stranded here. No mercy. Strange how after surviving two battles I still have not killed anyone. As I approached, though, I couldn't help but think that it was wrong. Killing someone in battle is one thing, but this man is no threat to me; I'm going to cut his throat when he doesn't even have a weapon, and why? Because he has a key ring on his belt that I need? No, it's wrong, completely wrong. I'm willing to kill in battle, but I'm no murderer. There has to be another way, a way where I don't have to kill him. I could take him alive, get the keys and lock him in a cell. Gag him so he can't call for help. Yeah, that's what I'll do. Quick and clean, no bloodshed.

I came up behind him fast, clamping one hand over his mouth to keep him quiet. I could see his eyes go wide with fear as I pulled his head back and pressed my knife against his throat. "Don't move or try to talk," I whispered in his ear. "Open that cell, and I'll let you live." He nodded as much as my grip allowed, and slowly retrieved the loop of keys from his belt as I pushed him closer to the door. He reached for the lock, and I took the pressure off the dagger ever so slightly so I could club him with it once he'd unlocked the door.

The guard suddenly lurched forward, throwing the keys into one of the cells. I reached out desperately, the fingers of my hand just brushing the loop as it sailed out of my reach and past the bars. Without my hand over his mouth he started to call for help, but was cut short. I felt a warm wetness on my dagger hand as the guard suddenly became dead weight, sinking to the floor.

I looked down, stunned by the blood on my hand. No no no, I didn't want this. I was gonna spare him, keep him alive. No bloodshed, no killing. And now he lay choking on the floor, one hand at his throat in a vain attempt to stop the flow of blood while the other reached out to me, a desperate plea for help. His eyes stared right at me, accusing me I thought. I did this, I need to finish it. There is still time for mercy. I knelt down next to him, bracing one arm against his shoulder while I placed the tip of my dagger under his arm, aimed right at his heart. We locked eyes.

"I'm sorry," I said, and pushed the dagger in. He jerked once, then lay still.

I pushed aside my horror for the moment, knowing I had little time before someone came to investigate that cry. I approached the cells, only to see that the keys were in a locked and unoccupied cell, out of my reach. I began looking for anything that could help me break into the cell, but there was nothing. There was rust on the lock though, which meant the tumblers in the lock could be rusty as well. Having no better ideas and absolutely no time, I jammed my knife into the lock and hammered it with my fist. The tumblers shattered loudly after the second blow, and the door swung wide. Well, If no one heard the guard die, they definitely heard that. I need to get out of here fast. The prisonner shied away from the open door, seeming kinda groggy and not quite sure what was happening.

"It's okay, I'm here to help. I'm gonna get you out of here, but we gotta go." The prisonner cautiously came out into the light. Oh great, it's a girl. And she's pretty, despite being very malnourished. Oh great she's wearing a really short skirt, because apparently no one wears pants in Tellius. Nooo, that would be too damn practical. Ugh, this is going to be awkward. Don't stutter, don't stutter. Fortunately (well, kind of fortunately) the sound of many guards coming our way brought me back to more pressing matters.

"C'mon, move it!" I snapped, gabbing her by the arm and practically dragging the poor girl out of the cell as I made a dash or the hallway. She stopped for a second, but only to grab the spear her dead guard had left leaning against the wall. We ran out of the room and the into the relative safety of darkness just as a group of guards came charging around the corner. They went straight for the source of the noise that had alerted them, which gave me time to lead the girl back down the hall towards the exit. We hadn't gotten far, though, when I heard more guards coming from that direction. Having no other options, we ducked into the nearest storage room to hide. The two groups of guards met not far outside of our room.

"There's been an escape from the other prison. Commander Danomill is looking for them and sent us here to check on this one." Shit, Boyd's been spotted too.

"You're too late, she broke out and killed her guard. Split your men up and help us check the rooms, she can't have gone far."

We looked all through the room for an alternate way out, but there was only endless shelves of grain, arrows, torches and various other things that would be useful to anyone but me. Still, it was a big room and the containers were clustered close together, making for some decent hiding spots. I pushed the girl between some containers, but there was no room for me. I looked around and spotted a promising place several meters away, but I ran out of time as a pair of guards entered the room with lit torches. I ducked behind the nearest cover and drew my knife. After what just happened a few minutes ago I wasn't eager to kill again, but these guys were armed and more than happy to kill me so at least there was no moral dilemma.

As the flickering light of torches drew nearer, I realized that I would die if I tried to stay hidden. I needed to take them out first. I slipped around the pile of containers that hid me to get a better view. The two guards had split up and begun searching both sides of the room, hoping to cover more ground quickly. Their first mistake. I timed my movements to stay out of the light as I first snuck past them, then circled around to come behind the one that was getting too close to the girl. He reached the containers she hid behind as I came at him from one side, along a row of sheves that paralleled his route. It looked for a moment as if he would walk right by her hiding place, but his friend called out to him and he stopped right next to her.

"You find anything? 'Cause I've got nothing over here."

"Nothing so far."

"She's not here. Let's just go."

"I want to finish the sweep, just to be sure. Commander Danomill will have our heads if we let any of his prisonners escape."

He started to move on, but his torch must have come close to the girl because she let out a gasp, thinking she had been discovered. The startled guard turned and looked closer at the pile of crates she hid in, and would have seen her had I not chosen that moment to strike. This time there was no hesitation as I grabbed him, stabbed him in the heart, and pulled him back behind the shelves I had used to cover my approach. He struggled for only a few seconds before dying. His buddy must have seen or heard something because he started to come over to investigate, but just when he got close the girl suddenly burst out of the pile of crates and thrust the tip of her spear up through the bottom of his jaw. He was dead before he hit the ground.

"Good job," I whispered. Damn, that second guy would have had me. That was sloppy.

Wasting no more time, we snuck out of the room and back towards the exit. We almost made it out without being spotted.

"There they are! After them!" And the chase was on.

We bolted down the hallway, but the girl was in no shape to outrun them. Turning and fighting was really the only option. Shit, this whole infiltration plan is totally FUBAR. We rounded the first corner and I motionned to the doorways in the hallway. We hid on opposite sides and I threw my dagger down the hall, hoping the clattering would lead them to believe we were still running. Surprise would be our only advantage here. The first few ran by before we struck, the girl tripping a man with the butt of her spear and stabbing him in the troat when he fell. I rushed the next soldier from the side, knocking aside the lance he aimed at the girl and drawing my sword along his stomach, disemboweling him. I cut down the next man as well, my blade cutting into his neck as he ran into his dying friend. The girl managed to kill a few of the men who had passed us but as the initial surprise wore off we found ourselves fighting back to back, able to do little more than parry and delay the inevitable.

A chorus of grunts and thuds came from behind me and I feared for a moment that I was alone, until the girl called out to me over the noise of battle.

"It's clear ahead. C'mon, run!"

I didn't know how that could be, but I didn't care. With renewed energy I launched a flurry of attacks against the man I was fighting, driving him back under the hail of blows. Then, instead of pressing the advantage, I simply disengaged and ran. Sure enough, the men she had been fighting were down and dead, some with cut troats, others with stab wounds in their backs. A shadow brushed by me, seeming no more than a slight breeze, and suddenly all the torches behind me went out. There were shrieks and gurgles as I ran away, then silence. Somehow, our pursuers were gone, allowing us to reach the intersection where Boyd and I had split up with no further incident. Much to my dismay, though, there was no sign of Boyd.

"Follow that corridor, it will lead you out," I told the girl when we had stopped.

"Aren't ye comin' too?" she asked.

"My friend's not back yet. I'm gonna find him, then I'll follow you out." I started down the corridor I'd sent Boyd down. I really hoped that I hadn't sent him to his death.

"I'm comin' then. Some o' me friends were taken that way." I wasn't about to argue; She was pretty good in a fight, and the look of determination she wore told me she was coming no matter what I thought.

"Alright. Let's make it quick." I retreived my dagger and set off at a jog down the hallway. There was no sign of guards, dead or alive, but I had a wierd sense that I was being followed. I kept looking over my shoulder, but all I saw was the girl. I turned back to see three shapes emerge from the darkness ahead.

"Adam! You're still alive!" It was Boyd, bloody and limping but very much alive and escorting two more Crimean prisonners. What a relief.

"Shit man, what happened to you? You look like you took on the whole garrison."

"Pretty much. Killed the commander and a whole bunch of the guards, but there was this like, I dunno, shadow or something that killed the worst of them for us. We found entire patrols dead on our way out."

"Same here. Wierd, huh? These all the prisonners?" Boyd nodded in response. The girl looked dismayed. I guess not all of her friends survived. "Good, let's get out of here."

We made it all the way back to the postern without finding any guards or the mysterious shadow that had saved us. We did, however, find the Greil Mercenaries; They had gotten in through the postern and were raising all kinds of hell in the courtyard. By the time I got everyone outside a large portion of the surviving Daeins were running out of the front gate, trying to escape. Yet more had locked themselves in the keep, prefering to leave their friends in the courtyard to their fate rather than face the Mercenaries. Ike and the others did not bother to press the attack and pulled back to the forest once the prisonners were safely away. The Daeins, having been thoroughly owned, did not try to pursue. We all regrouped at the wagons where Elincia, the monk and the merchants waited.

"Is everyone here?" Elincia asked.

"Just waiting on one more person..." Ike said. Waiting for who? By my count everyone was there, including the three new recruits and the monk we'd rescued.

One of the prisonners, a burly man in his forties, spoke up. "Say, umm thanks fer rescuin' us and all, but... who are ye? Just like ta know who I'm thankin'..."

"You didn't tell them?" Ike asked incredulously.

"I didn't really think to..." Boyd said.

"Probably would've been a good idea," I admitted. Wow I can't believe I forgot to mention the whole 'We're guarding the Crimean Princess' thing. That was stupid.

"So you just dragged them out of their cells without even a basic introduction? Smooth," Ilyana muttered.

"I didn't drag anybody..." I muttered back while Ike handled the introductions. Behind me the girl I'd rescued cleared her throat. "Okay, so maybe I did drag her a little bit, but there was no time for introductions. I was just, y'know, being hunted by a swarm of bloodthirsty Daeins. Kinda puts a rush on things." Ilyana just laughed at me. Ugh, she was trolling me. Successfully. I hate that.

Surprisingly, Soren said nothing despite the fact that I had been kinda stupid. In fact, he hadn't said a word to me since the meeting last night. Curious... I had expected him to be all like 'He's stupid and useless and I don't like him. Please please pretty please kick him out Commander Ike,' or something like that. But he remained silent. Sweet.

Off to my left, one of the new knights was scrutnizing Oscar rather closely, making the poor guy uncomfortable.

"AHA! I'd recognize that dastardly squintiness anywhere! You're Oscar, Crimean knights twelfth regiment," he accused.

"Uh, yeah I was. How did you...?"

"How did I know? Do you mean to tell me that my sworn rival did not recognize me? Gah, curse this helmet of mine!" With some rather comical struggling he managed to remove his helmet and throw it to the ground. He assumed a heroic pose. "I am Sir Keiran, valiant knight of Crimea, champion of all that is good, glorious protector of General Geoffrey at the battle of the crossroads where our princess was lost, and sworn rival of Sir Oscar!"

"And keeper of the great ego, apparently," Soren added. Ah, he's back. That's it Soren, focus your doucheyness on Keiran instead of me.

"Wait, you were with Sir Geoffrey? Do you know what became of him?" Elincia interjected, eager for any news of her friend.

"By the Goddess! Princess Elincia can it truly be you? We thought you lost to us in the ambush. Oh happy day! There is hope for Crimea after all! Oh dear, where are my manners? I apologize for missing your glorious presence 'til now, Your Eminence! I was distracted by the vile cur over there." He gestured rudely at Oscar. Oh my God, this guy is a complete nut job.

"Yes, umm thank you," Elincia said. "What about Sir Geoffrey?"

"Ah, yes he survived the battle, and was able to escape along with several of his men. I'll wager they're laying low, waiting for the opportunity to strike a crippling blow to Daein. Alas, your most stalwart knight (myself) suffered the shame of captivity. But we are reunited! Such emotion... *sniff*"

"Geoffrey... he is alive! Ah how those words drive off the shadow accross my heart. Thank you Keiran... thank you," Elincia said, visibly relieved. Ike looked at me with raised eyebrows, and I just smiled and mouthed 'I told you so.' Now they know my predictions are the real deal.

"Well, we all know where he stands. How about the rest of you? Will you fight for Princess Elincia?" Ike asked the rest of the prisonners.

The man who'd spoken earlier answered first. "Look here. I'm Brom and this lass here is Nephenee. We're just a couple of miltiamen, so we don't know much about all this war and kins and nobles and such. But that King of Daein is no friend to us Crimeans, an' I'm worried what could happen to my familly. Oh, my poor girls must be so scared. Yes, I'll fight for you."

"Will ye return Crimea to how it was before Daein came?" Nephenee asked.

"On my life I swear I will," Elincia declared. Brave sentiment, I hope she lives long enough to see it through.

"Then I'll fight for you," Nephenee answered.

Ike turned to the monk, but the monk did not wait for him to ask. "I am not Crimean, and there is little a simple pilgrim can do to help men such as yourself. I am sorry my friend, but I must walk my own path."

"Why help Crimean resistance fighters then? You put yourself in a lot of danger to help those you claim to have no ties to..."

"Why indeed? Men such as us, we do not hesitate when we see a person in need. Even in dangerous times such as these, we would heal the wounded or, in your case, rescue prisonners from a heavily guarded castle. Virtue, my friend. That is why."

"...You are right, I believe you. Safe travels to you."

"And you, my friend. I daresay you will need it more than I." With that, he was gone.

I felt someone brush by me and suddenly a man was standing in front of Ike. Wait, that's Volke! Cool. He dropped several heavy bags at Ike's feet, clinking as if they held coins. A lot of coins.

"Here's the castle's treasury. I already took my share, plus a few hndred extra for saving your people in the dungeons." Wait, that was Volke that killed all those guards? Holy shit, that guy is deadly! I bet his coin purse says 'Badass Motherfucker' on it. "I was thinking of travelling with you for a bit. You might have need of... intelligence. If you'll have me."

Titania seemed to be disagree due to Volke's dubious nature, and said as much to Ike. Soren began to argue with her, saying that his talents would be useful. I caught Ike's eye and nodded emphatically. We gotta keep Volke around. He's too powerful to pass up.

"You may come along if you like, Volke," Ike decided.

"Excellent. Call me if you need me." He took a few steps into the forest and just seemed to vanish. Ooooooh, so cool. I gotta learn how to do that.

Beside me, Boyd was chattering away excitedly about his exploits in the castle, while Ilyana made fun of the both of us for needing Volke to save us. Much as I wanted to join in, I wanted to talk with Ike and Elincia. I had some good news.

When I approached Ike, Soren's eyes went wide and he huriedly excused himself. Oh man, I really fucked with his brain when I mentionned the tattoo thing, didn't I? I'd feel bad, but he deserved it for being douchey. Muahahaha.

"Hey Commander. About that monk..."

"Yeah? You know something about him?"

"Let's just say things are going to go well in Sienne. That was Lord Sephiran, Prime Minister of Begnion."

"Are you serious?" Elincia asked. I nodded. "Oh, this gives me much more hope."

"What was he doing in Crimea?" Ike asked. Honestly, I don't remember.

"Sorry, but this time your guess is as good as mine. I'm sure it was something helpful to Crimea." Sephiran is a pretty nice dude, at least as far as I know...

"Well, we'd best get moving. Have you seen a healer, Adam?"

"Oh, I'm fine just got a few scratches parrying." Elincia looked at me in shock, prompting me to take a look at myself. Oh jeez, I was covered in blood.

"Not mine. Aterial spurt. I'll just change when we make camp."

"You're sure? Alright. Get ready to depart, I want to be far away from here when General Petrine learns of what happened here."

"Yes, Sir." I went back to my friends to help get our wagons ready to go. Time to get the hell outta here. Goodbye creepy castle, I won't miss you.

Author's Note

Sorry that chapter took so long, but I was busy again, and I was having problems with writer's block.

In other news, I have allowed guest reviews. That means that even if you don't have an account/aren't logged in, you can still review. Naturally, I would encourage you to do so. These reviews are moderated by me, so no flames. I will not remove concrit or genuine concerns though.

I know I got a little risky with Adam's character in this chapter, making him decent at sneaking and okay at fighting, but the truth is that I can be kinda stealthy in real life, and Adam was only able to kill when he had surprised people. And he will be having some difficulty coming to terms with those kills, particularily that first one, in future chapters. Overall, I don't think that counts as Stuism, but I want to be sure and don't trust myself enough to be the judge of that. If you think the character is a Stu, please let me know. I realize I may sound paranoid, and that's because I am, but hey better safe that Stu. Anyway, review PM me or whatever, I'm always happy to hear from readers. Seeya next time.


	6. Chapter 6

Author's Note

Hey, so it's been a really long time, I know. Life has been crazy and is about to get crazier so I'm sorry, but future chapters will not be comming out as quickly as I had hoped, especially during the school year.

So this is, to start off anyway, kind of a fluff chapter. Please read and review, I could really use the feedback. Enjoy!

Chapter 6

A Safe Place to Camp

It had been two days since we released the prisonners, and this was our first stop. Two nights in a row we traveled through the night, getting as much distance between ourselves and the prison as possible. There was no doubt that Daein knew we had been there by now, but hopefully they thought we were just a remnant of the Crimean army taking one last shot at the invaders. If they had guessed our true purpose and destination... well, the sooner we got to Port Toha, the better. This night, though, the horses were simply too tired to continue.

Using an old road known to Nephenee and Brom we brought the wagons deep into the forest and made camp in a small clearing. Far from prying eyes, we felt safe starting a few campfires, which meant Oscar could finally cook us all a decent meal. I sat down near one of the outer fires, and began to idly poke a stick into the fire. Ike came over and sat down across from me, looking pretty serious. Not that that wasn't normal, he just looked extra serious this time.

"Commander," I greeted him. "What's up?"

"Port Toha; What do you know about it?"

"Far as I know it's not occupied yet, but that won't last long. Daein needs to move quickly to subjugate the country or they risk rebellion, even with the main army and militias crushed."

"I agree. If we can get there before the army though, the villagers might be willing to help us."

"I wouldn't count on that. The locals know the war is lost, and are gonna be looking out for themselves. In this case, that could mean turning us in if things go bad."

"Are you sure? I just can't believe that people would turn their backs on their country like that. They wouldn't betray their own princess, would they?"

"I could be wrong, but self-preservation is a powerful motivator. It's really in their best interests to side with the winners."

"The war's not lost yet, not as long as we have Elincia, but I guess the people might not see it that way. We'll keep a low profile while we look for a ship. Any other information you can think of?"

I paused for a moment. There was something nagging at the back of my mind, but I just couldn't quite recall it. Probably nothing important. "Nope, that's all I've got."

"Alright." An awkward silence followed as Ike made no move to leave, despite the conversation being finished. Finally, he spoke up again. "You've been acting strange lately, ever since the prison. You're quiet and withdrawn, and Mist says you haven't been eating much..."

"I'm fine, Commander. Just been doin' some thinking lately, about y'know... war and stuff." I had been doing a lot of thinking in the past few days about the men I had killed, and I wasn't sure that I could continue like this. I knew that they were my enemies, but for some reason killing them still just felt wrong.

Ike nodded in understanding. "Taking a life is never easy, Adam, and it shouldn't be. But we have to learn to live with it."

That was rather perceptive of him. He's a lot smarter than the game gives him credit for. "I know. Still bothers me though... I mean, those guys I killed, they didn't deserve to die any more than I do..."

"We're at war. You do your job, and worry about keeping yourself and your friends alive. The rest... well, that's out of your hands. Don't hold yourself responsible for your enemy's death, okay?"

I considered this for a moment, then nodded. "Thanks, Sir."

Ike got up to leave. "No problem. Just eat something and stop acting so gloomy, you've got Mist convinced you're sick and dying or something."

"I can do that," I said, finally cracking a smile. Such a caring kid, I hope Mist never has to kill anyone. Ike headed off to check on other people, offering a kind word, some advice or just friendly conversation to everyone in camp. Well, I thought, he's right. Sitting around moping won't help me. All this fighting has to be wearing on Ike as well, but he still powers through and works to keep everyone's spirits up.

I rose from my seat and headed into camp, intending to find a few of my friends to talk to and maybe get some food. As I passed one of the tents, I noticed Nephenee sitting alone and looking... well, much like I imagine I had looked a few minutes ago. It was obvious from the look on her face that her mind was elsewhere, and wherever that was it wasn't a nice place.

"Hey, you okay? You don't look so good, want me to get you some food or something...?" No response. Her eyes didn't even move. I'd call it daydreaming, but it looked more like a nightmare, no doubt related to the prison she'd been kept in. I moved closer. "Nephenee?" Still no reaction, so I reached out and tapped her on the shoulder. She reacted instantly, letting out a terrified cry and grabbing for her spear.

"WHOA JEEZ!" I stepped back, but still almost caught a spear with my gut before she snapped out of it.

"Oh, s-sorry... Ye startled me..." she said, so quietly I almost didn't hear.

"I'll say," Note to self, don't surprise an armed and slightly traumatized person you just broke out of jail... kinda obvious when you think about it. Stupid me. "You wanna, um, put that down? Please?"

"Oh, yeah this," she said, finally realizing that she still had me nearly impaled. She set the spear down, and I let out the breath I'd been holding. "Did I...?"

"I'm fine just... don't do that again," What the hell happened in that prison that's got her so freaked out? Suddenly, I didn't feel so bad for killing the prison guards.

"Sorry... I'm still gettin' used to not bein' in that horrible place," she shuddered at the mention of it. Yeah, I don't feel so guilty now. In fact, I think those guards might have actually deserved it. "So, ummm... what did you want?"

"Well before you went all psycho on me I was askin' if you wanted any food so... You hungry?" She nodded. "Well c'mon let's see if Oscar's done cooking." I made sure to stay a few feet to the side of her as we headed for the central campfire where Oscar was cooking, just to be safe. When we reached the center of the camp, a heavenly and familliar cheesy aroma greeted me. It almost smelled like... no, it couldn't be.

"Hey Adam. The food'll be a few minutes yet if that's what you're here for," Oscar said as I approached.

"Whatcha cookin'?" Nephenee asked.

"Nothing special, just pasta in a cheese sauce," Oscar replied. Oh sweet cheesy awesomeness, it really was KD.

"You mean mac'n'cheese?!" I moved closer to get a look in the pot. Yes, it's totaly KD, just as if it were fresh out of the box. So. Happy!

"What? No, there's no 'mac' in this. At least, not as far as I know... Anyway, it's pretty well done cooking, just let me taste the cheese sauce..." Oscar dipped a spoon into the pot.

"Oooh, dibs on tasting!" I cried, but I was too late. Oscar took one taste and recoiled.

"Ugh it's all wrong, not properly seasoned at all, the flavours just aren't... I can't serve this!"

"It looks fine why don't you let me try it-" It smelled pretty delicious.

"No! I will not serve sub-par food. I just need some herbs, but which one?" He trailed off, deep in thought. By now a few others had gathered, drawn by Oscar's strange outburst.

"Hey Boyd, why's he acting so wierd? He's usually so mild-mannered..." I asked.

"Don't mind him, he gets like this when he cooks. The food's probably fine, but he won't let anyone eat until he's convinced it's perfect," Boyd explained in a tone that told me this was a common occurence.

"I have it! I need a few sprigs of thyme!" Oscar declared.

"We're out of thyme. You used it all last night, remember?" Boyd reminded him, exasperated.

"Ah right. Hmm what else could I use..."

"T-that plant grows in these parts. I bet I could find some for ya..." Nephenee said.

"Brilliant! Go get it then, but take Adam with you; The Commander says it's best not go out alone while we're in enemy territory."

"Alright, we shouldn't be long. C'mon, let's go," Nephenee said.

-half an hour later-

Well, it turned out thyme is really hard to find in the dark, and it didn't help that I had no idea what it looked like. Even worse, I got nervous being alone with a pretty girl and Nephenee never said much, so the conversation was pretty much non-existant. Oh yeah, and it started raining lightly about ten minutes after we left camp, just enough to make me really cold. For probably the billionth time I tried to say something to break the awkward silence.

"Hey Nephenee, so, umm... how's the..." Dammit, I still can't think of anything to say.

"Hmm?"

"Nuthin'..." I continued along silently until I saw a plant that looked promising. "Hey, is this it?"

She looked at what I was pointing at, and her eyes went wide. She pushed me away from the plant. "Don't touch that, or you'll itch for days!"

"Sooo... not edible?"

"No!" Shit, I was sure that was it. Aaaaannnnd back to awkward silence. Double shit. We walked in silence for a few more minutes before Nephenee unexpectedly spoke up.

"Hey, you're a professional mercenary or somethin', right?"

"Umm, something like that I guess." Mercenary, yes. Professional? Not so much.

"So ye fought in lotsa battles, right?"

"...I survived a few." My contributions to those battles were limited at best, but I see no need to tell her that. Wouldn't want her to think I'm a coward.

"How do ye handle, y'know, killing an' all that?"

"I'm still trying to figure that one out myself. I guess we just get used to it with time... maybe." Even I could tell it didn't sound very convincing. "I thought those guards killed your friends, though. Why do you feel bad about killing them?"

"It's not that I feel bad about them, it's just that... in the battle where I got taken, a lot 'o them Daeins looked like simple country folk, like Brom and me, who got recruited for the war. It just don't feel right killin' em. I mean, it's that horrible Daein king an' his generals an' those evil prison guards who do the torturin' that deserve to die, not us simple farmers an' peasants."

Those were my thoughts exactly. "Well, I don't know how much help it is, but Ike told me these things are out of our hands. We gotta look after each other and not worry about the enemy." It sounded better when the Commander said it.

"Still, it just don't seem right," Nephenee continued stubbornly.

"Nothing about war is right, that's the whole point. Look I got no more answers than you, all I know is that I intend to look after my friends just like the Commander said. These people have been good to me, so if helping them means killing Daeins then I guess I'll learn to live with it."

"I guess..." she echoed. She considered this in silence for a few moments as we walked along. "Ah! Found some!" She knelt down and began to stuff sprigs of thyme into her satchel. Seeing another bush of the same type, I started gathering as much as I could.

"Make sure to get extra, just to be sure Oscar doesn't run out of this stuff again." I don't like my food being delayed. Especially when it's mac'n'cheese.

We had just started jogging back to camp when Nephenee came to a dead stop in front of me. With my typical grace, I crashed into her and nearly knocked us both over.

"Dude what the hell?"

"Shht!" Did she just shush me? I think she did... but why?

"Why did you stop?" I asked quietly.

"D'ye smell that?" she asked.

Kind of a wierd question, but I sniffed anyway. I smelled burning wood. "It's a fire, you may have noticed we have several going in the camp. Now c'mon let's go I want my mac'n'cheese."

"We're upwind of our camp, which means somebody else is nearby."

"...That's not good. We'd better check it out." I hoped it would just turn out to be some travelers or merchants.

We could just see a flickering light through the trees, so we crept as close as we dared and behind a few dense bushes. Sure enough, it was a camp much the same as our own. The big difference was that this one was crawling with soldiers in black armor bearing Daein's red crest.

"There's at least two dozen of them," I whispered after doing a hasty count. This was bad; Their camp was less than a kilometer from our own, which meant discovery was a very real possibility.

"At least," Nephenee agreed. "There's room in those tents for a lot more."

"We need to warn the others. You go back, I'll stay and keep an eye on them. With luck, we can get everyone here and catch them by surprise."

"Even if we bring all of 'em, we'll be outnumbered. They don't know we're here, so we should just leave'em."

"We're gonna have to get by them to reach- Wait, I got movement on the left." We paused our argument and watched as a Daein scout ran into the camp. He spoke quickly to one of the sentries, then ran into the camp. A soldier, obviously the one in charge, stepped out of one of the tents to greet him. I couldn't make out their conversation, so I crept closer, crawling on my belly until I was nearly in the light. From there, I could just barely hear them.

"-sure about this?" the commander was saying.

"Yessir, they're Crimeans, heavily armed. And there's a girl with them; I don't know if she's the one General Petrine wants, but she's dressed all rich and has green hair."

"The Princess..." the commander muttered. He turned to another man. "You! Get on your horse and go to General Petrine. Tell her we may have found the Princess, and request that she send reinforcements." He turned back to the scout. "Can you lead us to this camp?"

"Yessir!"

"Good. Men, ready your weapons! We'll catch these Crimean bastards at unawares!"

That was all I needed to hear. I shuffled back to where Nephenee was hiding and filled her in.

"We have to stop that rider," I said, indicating the man saddling a horse. "If Petrine hears of this we're in trouble."

"I can do that," Nephenee said, taking out the javelin she wore on her back. "I just have to wait until the others are gone..." As she spoke the last of the Daeins left the clearing, moving slowly to avoid making noise. The rider had finished saddling his horse by then and mounted, moving off at a trot in the opposite direction. He had almost out of the clearing before Nephenee moved, taking a few running steps before snapping her whole body forward, launching the javelin in a throw worthy of the olympics. The man slumped in the saddle, then fell off. His horse, terrified, galloped off into the night.

"Nice throw," I managed. I will never make another 'throws like a girl' joke in my life.

"Thanks."

"Let's make sure their camp is clear. Wouldn't want any stragglers getting away."

We did a quick search of their camp, not wanting to lose too much time. It was empty, but when I looked in the commander's tent I noticed a few documents sitting out along with a bag of coins, left there carelessly in the rush to leave. There was no time to read them, so I just stuffed the papers and coins in my bag with the thyme. With the enemy camp cleared, we set off at a run for our camp. Fortunately, the Daeins was still moving slowly and we were able to catch up long before they reached our friends. As soon as the campfires came into sight, they spread out, with a long line of infantry hunkering down fifty meters or so from the edge of the clearing while a group of about ten archers moved up the left flank.

"Let's hit the archers while they're moving," Nephenee suggested.

"Good idea, we can at least distract them and prevent the flank attack. Make lots of noise when we attack, so the others will be alerted," I agreed as we moved up.

We ran as silently as we could behind the bowmen, but just as I got close to the rearmost man a twig snapped under my foot. He spun, saw me and started to bring his bow around.

"Shit!" I cursed as I knocked the bow aside with my sword. He loosed the arrow anyways, but it went harmlessly to the right. I reversed the swing and cut him down. Beside me, Nephene impaled the first man then spun around the corpse and smashed her shield into the next archer's throat. The other archer near me had no arrow nocked, so he swung his bow like a staff. I missed the block and it cracked down onto my shoulder, jolting me and stopping my attack. I countered with a weak backhanded strike, gashing his arm and making him drop the weapon before regaining control of my sword. With no way for him to block, I simply ran him through.

An arrow thudded into a tree not two feet to my right as the archers ahead joined the battle. I scrambled for cover, getting behind a tree trunk. A few meters to the left, Nephenee had also made it to cover. The last archer in our vicinity was not so lucky, however, and caught a stray arrow in the back as he was trying to ready his bow.

Pinned down, I had an opportunity to see how the rest of the mercenaries were doing. Sure enough, the sounds of battle had alerted them and several were already armed and ready. Knowing that the element of surprise was gone the Daeins charged, the leading line of twenty warriors letting out a fearsome battlecry as they entered the clearing with yet more soldiers coming behind. Soren must have been quick on the draw because a blast of wind magic came out of the camp and hit the center of that line, wounding and staggering the Daeins and ruining their charge. Then battle was joined, the Greil mercenaries meeting the disorganized charge with typical ferocity. They were outnumbered though, and the archers on the flank could still do some serious damage unless Nephenee and I could keep their attention on us.

"You ready?" I called.

"For our friends!" Nephenee replied grimly.

As one we broke from cover, moving quickly from tree to tree so the archers couldn't get a clear shot. They fired anyway, and one arrow thudded into Nephenee's shield while another grazed my arm. We were pumped full of adrenaline though, and didn't slow. I crashed into the first archer, screaming like a maniac as I cut him down. The next one pulled a sword though, and met me blade to blade.

"Fucking crimean pig!" he spat as he bashed away at my defences.

I was on slightly higher ground and easily blocked the first few strikes, then locked blades and pushed him back. I took a high guard and let him come to me, the terrain giving me a strong position. He was no swordsman, and after a short exchange of blows I was able to knock his weapon aside. I struck fast at the opening in his defences. He reacted just as quickly, spinning into my swing and accepting a gash on the shoulder as he caught my arms and used my momentum to throw me. My back smacked painfully into a tree and I lost my sword. The archer was on me in an instant, both hands at my throat in a vicious choke hold. My sword was out of reach, but as my vision started to tunnel in instinct took over. I freed up one arm, pulled my dagger from its sheath and drove it through his eye.

A booted foot rolled the corpse off of me, and as everything came back into focus I saw a hand extended towards me. I grabbed it and was hauled to my feet, my disorientation fading quickly.

"-elp the others! C'mon!" Nephenee was yelling as she handed me my sword. I hadn't quite caught my breath and not moving too quickly, so she dragged me for the first few steps.

The fight in the clearing had started to go against Daein, despite their advantage in numbers. Even Elincia was armed and fighting, Ike had bodies piled around him, and Rolf was dropping soldiers as fast as he could nock arrows. I even caught the occasional glimpse of Volke whenever he slit a soldiers throat. Still, one group of soldiers stood fast around their commander and the mercenaries, who clould only attack from the front, were making little headway against their shield wall. Nephenee charged into that wall from the side and tore a hole through their ranks. Only a few steps behind her I sprinted through that breach, shouldering one wounded man aside and charging at the back of the enemy commander. I knew that he was holding these men together, and his loss would ruin their cohesion. I aimed a thrust at his chest, but he saw me as I came in and bashed his shield right into my face.

I felt my feet go out from under me, then a vicious impact on the back of my head as I crashed to the ground. Above me, I saw Nephenee attack the commander as well. He sidestepped her charge, and though she managed to partially block his sword he just kicked her legs out. She dropped out of my sight. I tried to stand and get back in the fight, but my head was spinning and I couldn't seem to get my feet under me. I managed to draw my dagger, but his boot pinned that hand to the ground before I could use it. I looked up to see the commander aiming a sword at my chest.

"Goddess, you people just won't d-" He was interupted as a bolt of lightning struck him. It stunned for a few seconds, and Boyd jumped over me and buried his axe deep into the commander's chest. The sounds of battle faded quickly after that, the Daeins routing quickly with their commander dead.

By the time I was able to stand up, the battle was finished. Ike led a few of the mercenaries out to chase down any Daeins who escaped while Mist, Rhys and Elincia tended the wounded. Next to me, Nephenee was bleeding heavily from her fight with the commander, but Rhys was treating her wounds and she looked like she would be okay. A hand grabbed my shoulder and spun me around. It was Ilyana and Boyd, who had once again saved my life.

"Hey guys," I said. My nose felt wierd when I breathed...

"What kind of crazy, reckless move was that, Adam?!" Boyd asked.

"I dunno, but it must've been pretty bad if _you're _calling me out on it."

"Damn right!" Ilyana snapped.

"Ah, I knew you guys would save my ass," I tried to joke. Yeah, my nose feels really wierd. "Thanks."

"You owe me food. Lots of food," Ilyana replied.

"When we get to the port, I'll buy you guys dinner." I looked over my shoulder to check on Nephenee. Much to my relief, she was sitting up, looking a bit pale but otherwise okay. I smiled, but cringed when my nose began to hurt. What the hell was wrong with it?

"Aw, did that guy break your nose?" Boyd asked mockingly.

I reached up and felt it. Yup, broken, very broken indeed. "Owww. Yep."

"Hurts, don't it?" Boyd asked, grinning. He grabbed my nose. "Hold still, this will only hurt a little bit... for me."

"You're enjoying this, aren't you," I accused. Not that I didn't kinda deserve it for breaking his nose a few times...

"You bet." He twisted the nose back into the proper shape.

-a few hours later-

Tired horses or no, we packed up camp and left that clearing as soon as Ike and the others got back. According to the Daein orders, that force had been sent ahead of the main army to secure the roads and bridges around Port Toha. A much larger force was only a day's march behind them, and it seemed that Toha's city guard had been bought off by Daein. The good news was that they seemed to have no idea where we were, but even so there would be little rest for us or the horses until we got a ship to take us out of Ashnard's reach.

I was in the back of the wagon with Boyd, eating cold mac'n'cheese spiced with fresh thyme. It was nice and nostalgic, reminding me a bit of home. I had killed again, and Ike was right; I didn't like it any more than I had the first time. Still, the knowledge that I was fighting for my friends kept me from feeling any guilt over those deaths. I had no doubt that I would still have a few nightmares, but I could live with it. This was war, I was just another soldier, and I knew where my loyalties lay. The rest, as Ike said, was out of my hands.

Author's Note

Did I say fluff chapter? Well, I lied. That'll teach you not to listen to me;) Anyway, thanks for reading I hope you enjoyed this chapter, please leave a review and let me know what you think. I know I've said it before, but I could really use the feedback, good or bad.

I'm gonna be taking a week or so off from writing to attend Star Wars Celebration VI (so excited, best convention ever!), and after that I will be starting my second year of college. Between my classes, martial arts, work and travel I'm not sure how much time I will be able to devote to writing, so I have no idea when the next chapter will be out. I'm sorry, but it could be quite a long time. I will continue to write, I just won't be getting a lot of chapters done during the school year. Before I go, I guess I'd just like to say thank you all for reading, reviewing and supporting this story despite my rusty writing skills and erratic update schedule. You guys are awesome, and there is no way I would have stuck with writing this long without your encouragement. I look forward to posting more chapters once things calm down IRL. Anyway, seeya later!


	7. Chapter 7

Fire Emblem, Valiant Dawn Chapter 7

Author's Note

Alrighty, time for a two-part chapter in Port Toha. And that's about all I have to say.

Disclaimer: All the characters belong to Nintendo and Intelligent Systems. Except Adam. That would really suck if they owned him... Oh yeah they own the world and the storyline too.

Chapter 7

A Nice, Quiet Dinner- What Could Go Wrong?

Port Toha was not what I had expected. From the way it was shown in the game, I had expected Port Toha to be fairly small, and while it seemed to be layed out in the same way, it was anything but small: A sprawling port city surrounded by a high wall, it dominated the landscape. In the distance I could see dozens of masts in the bay, and outside the gates there were huge camps of what looked like refugees.

"Wow, I didn't think it would be so huge!" I exclaimed as our wagons neared the main gates.

"That's what she said," Boyd muttered, but I ignored him. Soren, who much to my disappointment was ridding with us, looked at me as if I were stupid.

"It's the largest port in western Crimea, which makes it the region's trade hub. Of course it's huge," he said with an air of superiority.

"Oh okay, that makes sense. But if we wanna leave the country without Daein noticing, wouldn't it be a better idea to find a smaller port? Maybe one where the city guard hasn't been bought by Daein," I asked.

"Port Toha may look nice, but you will never find a more wretched hive of scum and villainy," Ranulf answered from the wagon ahead of us. "It's the perfect place to find a ship captain willing to take on some off-the-books passengers with no questions asked, and with enough coin the city guard will be happy to forget we were ever here. Since King Caineghis provided us with plenty of money, this should go smoothly."

As our wagons drew nearer to the eastern gate, I saw a half a dozen soldiers posted outside. They wore the white uniforms of Crimea, but they did not look very friendly. Worse yet, their leader bore Daein's emblem on his armor.

"Halt! By order of the Daein occupation force, all wagons entering the city must be searched for contraband and wanted persons."

Ranulf, wearing a hood to conceal his distinctive ears, got down from his wagon and approached the captain. "You don't need to search these wagons, and we can enter the city," he said, discreetly passing a bag of coins to the captain.

The captain opened the bag and smiled. "I don't need to inspect these wagons." He motioned for his men to open the gates, then waved us through. "Move along, move along."

As the wagons began to move again, Ranulf shook hands with the man. "You will forget we entered the city."

"Forget who, now?" the captain replied, pocketing the coins Ranulf had pressed into his hand. "Enjoy your stay in Port Toha, but you may want to make it short. It will be getting very crowded around here soon, if you get my meaning."

We entered the city with no further incident, and parked the wagons just inside the walls. Ike began to give orders once everyone was dismounted.

"Titania, Mist, Oscar and Rolf, I want you to sell our extra wagons and horses, then see about getting some more supplies. Soren, you're coming with Ranulf and I to find a ship. The rest of you feel free to shop, eat or look around town. Just stay out of trouble, and meet back here by sundown."

"Alright, time for that dinner you promised us," Boyd said, while a very hungry looking Ilyana nodded her agreement. "C'mon, I know a good tavern not too far from here."

"I didn't know you'd been to Port Toha before. Was it some kind of mercenary job?" I asked.

"Yeah, something like that..." he replied. "C'mon, it's this way." He led us through a bustling market filled with all sorts of food, clothes, weapons, tools, armor and even some rare imported merchandise (or so the merchant claimed). Once we got out of the market, Boyd led us across a bridge that seemed just as busy as the marketplace. The tavern was just a few buildings down from the bridge, and Boyd wasted no time leading us in. Inside, a multitude of people were crowded around the bar while small groups sat at a few of the tables, ordering drinks and chattering away. A group of minstrels in one corner were playing an upbeat, jazzy tune on some peculiar wind instruments.

"Did somebody forget to mention the war to these people?" I asked, aghast at how relaxed the whole city was.

"Who cares? We should enjoy it while we can, cause there won't be any good places like this on a boat," Boyd said as he craned his neck to look over the crowd. "Ah, table over there. Let's get it before someone else."

We got a table at one of the back corners, and a serving girl was over in an instant. "You want some drinks or somethin'?"

"Wine, if you have it," said Ilyana.

"Just water for me," I added.

"Whoa, uh-uh! My friend means ale-" Boyd stopped as he turned towards the waitress, and the poor girl's mouth dropped open.

"Boyd? What are you doin' here?!"

"Ummm, yeah hi it's been a whi-"

The girl slapped him in the face. Hard.

"TWO YEARS! You said you'd come back and see me, but I never even got a letter!"

"Yeeeeaaah, I was really busy with the, umm, mercenary stuff and all. Y'know, fighting bandits and pirates and being heroic. Yeah, that's why."

"I doubt you were that busy, you lying jerk! And who's this? The new girl?" she asked, gesturing at Ilyana.

Ilyana shook her head. "No, definitely not. Now back to more important matters, I would like a plate of-" Boyd cut her off.

"C'mon baby, you know the time we spent together meant a lot to me," he said sweetly, leaning closer to the serving girl.

"It did?"

"Yeah, I really missed you... ummm, Cheryl?"

"You don't even remember my name!?" she grabbed a drink from the table next to ours and threw it in Boyd's face before storming off. When she was gone, I began to applaud sarcastically.

"And I though I wasn't good with the ladies..."

"Hey, how many girls have you courted?"

"Well none, but that's not the-"

"That's what I thought. Ooh, here comes that cute new girl from the prison. Just sit back and watch a master at work," Boyd said. I looked over my shoulder and sure enough, Nephenee was wandering into the tavern, looking for a table. Poor, unsuspecting Nephenee...

"But she didn't even take my order..." Ilyana mumbled sadly, watching the waitress leave.

Boyd stood up and got Nephenee's attention by waving ridiculously. "Hey there beautiful, why don't you come here and take a seat next to me? Dinner's on us!" Not-Cheryl heard this and huffed indignantly.

"Yeah and I'm paying. Real generous, dude," I grumbled.

Nephenee did come to the table, but chose to take a seat next to Ilyana (and far from Boyd). Thwarted, Boyd sat back down. Still, he wasn't ready to give up just yet.

"So tell me, beautiful, is you father a baker? Cause you're a real cutie pie!" Oh my god, did I really just hear that?

Nephenee, a confused expression on her face, simply replied "Ummm.. no," before turning to talk with Ilyana. Any further attempts at... whatever Boyd was doing was interrupted as another server came to take our orders.

When the food arrived the coin purse I had taken from the Daein camp became a lot lighter thanks to Ilyana ordering more food than the rest of us combined. We all dug into the food except for Boyd, who was thoroughly baffled.

"That line used to work so well..."

"She barely knows you, and she seems kinda shy. Wouldn't it have been better to just say hi and invite her over without hitting on her?" I asked.

"What? No, you clearly know nothing about this."

"Neither do you, apparently."

"I used to... I'm sure it's just got something to do with all this war and fighting. Yeah, that's it, I'm getting distracted by all the heroic umm... heroism I've been doing."

"Keep tellin' yourself that," I snickered, earning myself a punch in the shoulder.

A loud belch from the direction of the two girls interrupted us. I looked over to see that Ilyana had finished half of her food, and had several empty flagons in front of her.

"Oh, that can't be good," I said. How did she eat it all so fast? This meal is gonna be so expensive. "I thought the idea was just to have a few drinks..."

"Heeey that guy by the bar's checking me out, isn't he?" she asked me, slurring her words a bit and completely ignoring me. Groaning inwardly, I looked at the bar and there were indeed a few men looking in our direction. One, a blue-haired man with a sword belted at his side, seemed to be focused on Ilyana. To his left, though, a group of evil-looking men were also eyeing our table, but seemed to be taking extra interest in our weapons. They had been talking to people at several other tables, and a few of these had joined their group. Seeing me looking in their direction, the leader and a few others approached us.

"Hey there, strangers," the leader said. "Don't recall seein' you round here before..."

"We're travelling mercenaries," Boyd replied cautiously. "Just passing through."

"Well, you got some nice weapons, and most of you look like you know how to use them. Might be that I got a job for you..."

"Thanks, but we've already got a job," Boyd said.

"Now hear me out, this would just be a quick engagement on the side. See, there's been all kinds of strange folk comin' into this fair city. Most of 'em are just refugees, but I hear some of them are sub-humans in disguise. Me and my group of vigilantes are planning to give the city a good purging once the Daein army gets here, that way the scum will have no way out. A few extra swords would be mighty handy for takin' on the beast-men."

The mood at our table had been getting darker the more the man said, and now Boyd stood, scowling openly at the man. "You want us to help you with a laguz hunt?" he asked incredulously. "Not a chance. As I said, we already have a job, so get lost."

"What did you say, boy? You a friend o' the beasts?" the leader asked, one hand on his sword as he moved closer to Boyd. Just when it looked like a brawl was going to start, the man who had been checking Ilyana out interrupted.

"You're hunting lag- sub-humans? I'll gladly join your group."

"You will? Well good, I guess we've got enough recruits. Let's go show the new guys the ropes before the hunt starts."

"Good, I'd like to meet _everyone_ in this little hunt." This guy sounded almost too eager... wierd. With a final scowl in our direction, the leader took his men and left.

"Ugh, I can't believe I thought that guy was cute. Ignorant jerk," Ilyana said.

"I better go tell Ike about this. If they're gonna go after Lethe, Mordecai and Ranulf, then we have to get them out of sight," Boyd said, gathering up his axe and taking a few more bites of food.

"I'll come with you," I offered.

"No, you've still got to settle the bill. Don't worry about it, I'll take care of the laguz hunt thing," he said, puffing out his chest and glancing at Nephenee. Ugh, I thought he'd given up on that. "You could come with me if you want, beautiful. We could have a nice romantic walk together..."

Nephenee looked really uncomfortable. "N-no thank you. I've still got to..." She quickly grabbed a half empty drink from Ilyana. "...finish this drink."

"Alright, fine." Boyd left, sulking.

The rest of the meal passed in a rather awkward silence; Ilyana's mouth was full, Nephenee never spoke much, and I was to nervous to say much when it was just me and the two girls. After Boyd had been gone for a while, Nephenee left to look around the market. Distracting myself as I waited for Ilyana, I began to listen to the minstrels while I nursed my drink (the ale was nasty, I should have just gotten water). It took a while, but once Ilyana was finally finished eating I left a few coins on the table for all the extra courses she ordered, and made a mental note not to offer to pay for dinner ever again. We had just started to rise when a man stepped out of the crowd, a small crossbow trained discreetly on Ilyana.

"I thought I recognized you, but it was the appetite that gave you away." He motioned for us to sit back down. "Now, where's my money?"

"In that coin purse on your belt, probably..." Ilyana suggested, completely serious. I would have laughed if there wasn't a weapon pointed at me. So much for a quiet, peaceful meal...

"What?! No, you stupid bitch, I want the money you owe me!"

"But I don't even know you, how could I owe you money?"

"Ugh! You borrowed money here two months ago, but you left town and never payed it back. I would be bad for business if I let people get away with that."

"Oh, I remember now. The sign on your door said you'd give me money, so I used that to buy some food. I didn't know I had to give it back, most guys are happy to give me food..." Oh wow, this whole loan thing is kinda lost on her.

"Well, you do have to pay me back, plus fifteen percent for the long wait," the man said, exasperated.

"Oh, I don't have any money. Can you pay him, Adam?" she asked, looking at me sweetly.

"Oh, come on! Seriously? I just bought-" She gave me sad puppy eyes. Damn. "Oh whatever. How much does she owe you?" I pulled out my bag of coins again. This day just keeps getting better and better.

"Let's just call it an even three thousand," the loan shark said.

"THREE THOUSAND! How much food did you get?"

"I was hungry, and he said I could have as much money as I wanted..."

"Well, that was dumb. Look man, we don't want any trouble, so I'll talk to my employer and see if she can borrow money from him to pay you, okay?"

"What, let her walk away again without paying? Not a chance." He raised the crossbow to aim at Ilyana's chest, an evil grin on his face. "As I said it's bad for business, so if you can't pay..." Next to me, I saw Ilyana quietly slip a thunder tome out of her bag. This could get very messy. "...then I guess I have no choice."

"Okay, whoa man let's talk about this-"

KRACK! A lightning bolt shot out from under the table and struck the loan shark in the chest. He pitched forward onto the table firing the crossbow as he went. Luckily, the bolt hit the wall just to Ilyana's left. The whole tevern went silent. So much for not drawing attention.

"I think it's time to leave," I whispered.

"Yeah, that would be good."

Despite the silence, everyone in the tavern seemed none too surprised by the dead guy, so I did my best to calm myself down and act normal. I tossed a gold coin to the bartender, saying "Sorry 'bout the mess," before heading for the door. I was barely halfway there before the music and chatter started again as if nothing were amiss, and I glanced over my shoulder to see the barkeep casually motion for some of his workers to get rid of the smoking corpse. Wretched hive of scum and villainy, eh? This place is seriously messed up.

We made our way back to the market, doing our best to stay unnoticed. Upon reaching the market we could see that most of the mercenaries were already there. Most were simply milling about the stalls, but Ike stood in the middle, accompanied by Ranulf and Soren. I approached him, not eager to break the bad news.

"I was just about to send someone to look for you, you're the last ones to get back," he said as we approached.

"Yeah, we kinda got held up..."

"Oh, Boyd already told me. I'm not too worried, since our ship will be leaving before sundown, and the captain tells me she's a fast ship. We should be long gone by the time Daein arrives and that hunt begins."

"There's more," I said, looking at Ilyana. "It seems someone got in trouble with a loan shark the last time she was in town."

"Oh but it's okay now, I killed him," she said matter-of-factly, completely unbothered by the death. I guess she doesn't really care about anyone aside from her friends...

"You killed him? And this is good how?" Ike asked.

"No one seemed to care. The tavern went back to normal right away."

"You must have been at Chalmun's place," Ranulf said laughing. When everyone looked at him in confusion, he continued. "You picked the shadiest tavern in all of Port Toha, and that probably wasn't the first death in there today. Man, this one time I was in town and some guy picked a fight with a former knight. The old man cut his arm off right in front of the bar! Hahaha... Anyway, that won't have drawn any attention, it's actually normal in that place. Doubt anyone will even bother to tell the city guards, and even if they do the guards probably wouldn't care."

"You're sure?" Ike asked.

"Trust me, we're fine."

Just as Ranulf finished speaking there came a great commotion from the city gates. We turned to see ranks of black clad soldiers entering the city, while Crimean citizens and refugees alike fled before them. Daein was early.

"You were saying?" I quipped halfheartedly.

Author's note

I tried to work in some references to my favorite science fiction movies in this one, we'll see if that worked. I just noticed a few (very few) similarities between Port Toha and a certain spaceport, so I had some fun with it. The next chapter will cover the battle to escape Port Toha, but again I have no idea when it will be out. I'm busy. Very busy.

Anyway, thanks for reading. If you liked the chapter, hated the chapter, or had any opinion in between that please leave a review, concrit, PM or whatever. I know I say this every time, but the feedback is super helpful. I have not yet addressed some of the concerns people have raised in regards to Adam's combat skills/fear/other stuff yet, but trust me it will be taken care of in the next chapter.


	8. Chapter 8

Fire Emblem Valiant Dawn

**Author's note:**

**Oh my gosh it has been so long since I've updated. Sorry, but life got really, really busy. Way worse than all the other times I said life got busy. Midterms lasted three weeks, I had a road test, a martial arts test, several events to attend, a birthday, and of course I had to get ready for Halloween. So yeah, glad that's all over. I can finally get back to writing.**

**This is part two of three of Port Toha. Hope you enjoy.**

**Disclaimer: Everything that is from the games belongs to Nintendo and Intelligent Systems. Star Wars belongs to George Lucas. Firefly/Serenity belongs to Joss Whedon and Mutant Enemy (Fox sucks reaver nuts for canceling it).**

Chapter 8

The Streets Run Red

Rank upon rank of black clad soldiers marched through the city gates, a column of heavy horse at their head. The crowded market had gone completely still, the once lively crowd silent as heavy footsteps rang in my ears. In what seemed like one precise movement, a block of soldiers split off from the column and formed up in front of the crowd.

"I'm going to see about moving up our departure. Be back in a few minutes," Ranulf whispered to Ike. Checking one last time to be sure his hood covered his distinctive ears , he slipped away. Slowly, the other mercenaries made their way through the crowd and began to gather around Ike as the Daein commander rode to the front of the block of soldiers in the marketplace.

"Former citizens of Crimea! I am Commander Makoya of the Daein Occupation Army, and as of this moment I am placing Port Toha under martial law," he bellowed, standing up in his stirrups. "I order all of you to return to your homes while we search the city for Crimean insurgents. Cooperate, and you will not be harmed. Resist, and the consequences will be dire indeed." This declaration was met with much grumbling from the crowd.

"Ah, why can't you just let us be?" one annoyed voice called.

"Do we look like bloody insurgents to you?" another added sarcastically.

"We got no quarrel with ye, but we'll lose profits if we close down the markets an' docks..."

"I have a family to feed..."

I almost couldn't believe what I was hearing; I had seen the apathy of these people, but now they were being occupied and all they did was bitch about lost profits. Daein killed their king and countrymen, for fuck's sake!

"I am ordering you to disperse! I will use force if I must!" Makoya shouted, his face going bright red with anger. A few people left but most of the others continued to complain. By now, all the mercenaries were gathered, and they exchanged worried glances. This could turn ugly real fast.

"Alright, it looks like one way or another we'll be losing the cover of the crowd any minute now," Ike said, keeping his voice even and calm despite the danger. "Titania, are the supplies taken care of?"

"We've purchased everything we need, and it's all been loaded on the ship," she replied, casting wary glances toward the angry crowd gathered in front of the Daein commander. They were getting increasingly agitated, and it looked like the situation would be escalating if one side didn't back down.

"Alright, then we're ready to leave once Ranulf convinces the captain to leave early. If all goes well, we can head to the docks together along the main road when Ranulf returns."

"And if we're spotted or things get violent?" Soren asked. From the look on his face, it seemed he considered battle a foregone conclusion.

"We split up and take different routes to the ship to confuse any pursuit. If it comes to that, then remember that our's is the old Firefly-Class merchant ship on dock seven."

"Wait, Firefly-Class?" I interjected. I hope I heard right...

"Yes. It's not exactly a warship, but it will get Elincia to safety," Ike replied.

"Hehe, epic," I chuckled to myself, trying to take my mind off the whole imminent death thing. Too bad it's not actually a spaceship... but still, it's a Firefly ship. Oh, how I wish I could tell everyone back home about this. Soren just gave me the 'you're such a tool' look.

"Anyway, everyone just try to act normal until Ranulf returns," Ike continued. "And for the love of Ashera, don't kill anyone," he added, looking pointedly at Ilyana.

"Oh, don't worry. I only needed to kill the one guy," Ilyana replied innocently. Ike just rolled his eyes. Around us the market was gradually emptying, the threat of force enough for many of the shoppers. The merchants, however, were getting angrier by the minute and began yelling and complaining to the Daein commander. Makoya ignored them and rode off with his cavalry, leaving a line of Daein troops to keep the people from rioting. Unfortunately the crowd was almost at that point, and only a few minutes later the soldiers moved into the crowd and began forcing them to leave. Luckily, Ranulf returned at that moment.

"Good news; Nasir says he's ready to depart as soon as you're all aboard. He's as eager to leave as we are."

"Good, let's get going," Ike said, looking quite relieved. It seemed we would be able to get out before Daein shut down the docks, which meant no fighting. After all, no matter how good our company was, there were hundreds of soldiers in the city.

"Everyone, follow m- OOF!" Ranulf fell to the ground as a girl rushing to get home slammed into him.

"Oh my goodness, I'm so sorry!" she exclaimed.

Ranulf stood and brushed himself off. "It's quite alright, miss. Just please be more careful from now on," he said politely. I suddenly noticed, as did the girl, that his hood had fallen down. The girl's eyes went wide with shock.

"EEEEEK! SUB-HUMAN!" she screamed. In an instant a knot of people gathered around Ranulf, shouting and carrying on. Seeing the disturbance, the Daein troops in the market began to converge on our location. Ike rushed to stand beside Ranulf.

"Leave him be! He has done nothing wrong," he said, trying in vain to defuse the situation before the soldiers could push their way through the crowd.

"He's a sub-human!" someone yelled, as if that were all the reason they needed to hate him.

"It's a Gallian scout! They're going to invade!" another cried. Idiots, they were already being invaded!

"Get out of my way!" the closest soldier shouted as he shoved his way through the crowd. He shoved one last person out of the way, and saw Ranulf. Realizing he was a laguz, the soldier tore his sword from its sheath and charged.

"Oh no you don't," Ike snapped, one long stride putting him in front of the charging Daein. In one motion he drew his sword and knocked the surprised man's weapon out wide, then brought the blade down hard into his opponent's chest. There was a moment of stunned silence as the soldier slumped, then all at once the crowd scattered. Screaming, panicked people ran every which way, causing no end of confusion for the remaining Daeins. Unsure of who was friend or foe, the soldiers began attacking and subduing whoever happened to be nearest.

"RUN!" Ike yelled above the din of the crowd. I didn't need to be told twice.

I made a run for the nearest stall, and several people slammed into me as I tried to get away from the stampede. Dodging one particularily fat merchant, I ducked behind a produce stall and took a moment to gather my wits. Back in the middle of the market Ranulf had transformed and was drawing several of the enemy away to the south, but I caught no sign of the others . The market was getting emptier by the second as the crowd rolled towards the exits, but there were still many opportunistic people and looting the unattended stalls while the remaining Daeins chased them. It was absolute chaos.

Ilyana, Boyd and his brothers ran past me, and I knew I was running out of time to escape. Darting from cover I joined up with them, and together we made a beeline for the bridge we'd crossed to get to Chalmun's just an hour before. There were still many Daeins in our way, but the confusion made getting away much easier. Boyd caught one Daein with his back turned and broke his neck, while Ilyana dropped a second soldier with a point-blank thunder spell. Ahead, I saw another man grab Nephenee, but Mordecai charged in, his powerful jaws clamping down hard on the man's neck. Oscar led the way across the bridge, his heavy mount and lance knocking aside the few remaining Daeins who stood in our way. I glanced back at the chaos in the market as our group crossed the bridge, hoping to see some sign that the others had made it out as well. I thought I saw Ike heading down a side street, but I soon lost him in the crowd.

"Come on, the way is clear!" Oscar called, bringing me back to more immediate concerns. We ran down the street, keeping our weapons sheathed and doing our best to act like all the other people fleeing the market. We weren't very successful; Mordecai had shifted back to normal after killing the one soldier, but even so a man of his stature certainly stood out. Add to that the fact that Oscar seemed to be the only person around on horseback and we stuck out like an open fracture. Worse yet, I recalled that this was the street the vigilantes/laguz hunters used in the game. It seemed we would be in for another fight.

Sure enough, the vigilantes I had seen earlier at Chalmun's were coming down the street towards us, shouting and carrying on about "gettin' me a beast-skin rug" and other horrid things. Boyd and I tried to hide our faces, but it was no use.

"Hey! It's them sub-human lovers from the tavern!" the leader shouted upon seeing us. The men around him moved to block our path and the crowd cleared the street, cheering on their beloved vigilantes as they left.

"Let us pass. We don't wish to harm fellow Crimeans," Oscar declared, taking charge as he was the most experienced warrior among us. A few of the vigilantes took a step back as Oscar drew near, his imposing destrier stealing some of their bluster.

"Well, I wish to harm them four," the leader snarled back mockingly, encouraged by the number of men around him. He gestured rudely at the four of us who had turned down his offer in the bar, drawing jeers and taunts from his fellows. "And that large fellow there, he's got stripes on his face just like one of them sub-humans," he added when he got a look at Mordecai. I noticed the blue-haired man who had joined the vigilantes in the bar moving into position right behind the leader. A swordsman with blue hair, why is that familiar? ... Oh right it's Zihark, how could I forget that?! Wow, I am the least helpful and most stupidest all-knowing gamer of all time. All forgetfulness aside, this was good. As I recalled, Zihark liked laguz so he would probably help us, and he was right behind that bastard leader...

"Let us pass, or there will be bloodshed," Oscar replied firmly, surreptitiously reaching for his lance. I loosened my sword in its sheath, Boyd brought his axe off his back, and behind me I heard the distinctive crackle of thunder magic being readied. At this point, a fight was all but inevitable.

"Oh, there's gonna be bloodshed all right!" the leader snapped. "Get'em, boys!" The vigilantes eagerly surged forward, hooting and hollering. Never one to be left out of any loudness, Boyd screamed like a banshee and charged headlong into the first available enemy. Oscar dispatched a few vigilantes with relative ease from atop his horse, the height of his mount and reach of his spear giving him all the advantage he needed. Mordecai tore into the vigilante who was coming for me, but the leader moved in while he was distracted, swinging a large jagged sword at the laguz's side. I lunged forward, sword extended to intercept.

"Coward!" I snapped as I blocked the cowardly strike. "Try fighting someone who doesn't have their back turned."

"If you insist," the leader sneered.

I rushed into the fight, putting all my strength into an overhead, two-handed strike. After the last few skirmishes I was pretty confident that I could take one man one on one; I couldn't have been more wrong. The blades crashed together, his easily holding mine in place despite all my efforts. The leader pushed back, and suddenly I was stumbling backwards, off-balance and very vulnerable. This man was no lazy prison guard or poorly equipped archer conscript; He was an experienced warrior, and a whole hell of a lot stronger than me to boot. I backpedaled frantically, blocking the next strike but losing my sword in the process. I threw myself back as the leader reversed his swing, the sword tip just nicking the leather armor I wore on my chest. I landed hard on my ass and the breath went right out of me, but I kept the presence of mind to roll to the side. The next strike sank into the dirt where I'd been just a second before, and my roll carried me close to my lost sword. I grabbed it and stood, sucking in a breath and trying to regain my balance. I started to back up, but my back hit the wall of a building. Shit, I hadn't realized the fight had taken me there.

"Still wanna fight?" the leader taunted me as he extracted his sword. "'Cause all I see you doin' is running away like a little bitch."

"Fuck you," I spat. I really had nothing else at this point. I had both underestimated him and overestimated my own abilities, and it had cost me. The leader raised his sword but suddenly froze, an expression of intense pain on his face. An instant later the tip of a sword tore through his chest. He slumped, sliding silently off the blade. Standing over the corpse, Zihark ripped his sword free and turned to engage a pair of vigilantes intent on avenging their leader.

"Traitor!" they screamed, outraged.

"Ignorant, racist pigs!" Zihark shot back, easily parrying their attacks. "You people disgust me," he snarled as he ducked a clumsy swing and delivered a precise slash to the man's throat before stepping back inside the reach of the next attacker. One quick thrust put an end to that man as well. With no leader and a traitor cutting them down with brutal efficiency, the rest of the vigilantes broke ranks and scattered. We let them go, more concerned with the unexpectedly helpful swordsman.

"Thank you for your assistance, but who are you?" Oscar asked our new ally, clearly perplexed by the sudden betrayal.

"I am Zihark, a traveling mercenary and friend to the laguz. I was with these men in the hopes that I could stop them from killing any innocents, though I must say you seem to have taken care of that problem quite handily."

"Well we'd love to stay and exchange thank you's, but we're getting out of here before Daein can catch us," Oscar replied. He considered Zihark for a moment, then added "You're welcome to come along, if you want. You'd be paid, of course."

"Certainly. Any friend of the laguz-" He was cut off as ball of fire suddenly exploded not five feet to the left of our group. It startled Oscar's horse, who reared and nearly threw him off.

"Mage! Get to cover!" Boyd screamed as he dove behind an abandoned wagon on the side of the road. Zihark tackled Ilyana to save her from a second fire spell, and a third passed no more than a few feet over my head, sending me diving behind cover as well. I leaned around the edge of the wagon to see a formation of Daein soldiers marching down the street towards us, a fire mage in their midst. It was hard to tell how many, but they had us outnumbered by a lot.

"Quickly, down the alley! We'll be slaughtered if we stay in the open," Oscar ordered as he regained control of his mount, indicating an alley right next to the wagon.

Rolf hesitated while the others rushed to the alley. "Are you sure? It could be a dead-end!" he shouted. "We'd be trapped."

"Better than staying out here to be roasted," I replied. Naturally, Ilyana's stomach rumbled loudly. I gotta be more careful with what I say around her. Boyd pushed Rolf ahead of us, keeping himself between his brother and the mage as we all ran off the street. Behind us, a ball of fire tore into the wagon.

The four of us took the rearguard, Ilyana casting as she ran. The others were barely halfway down the alley when the Daeins reached the entrance. Ilyana and Rolf fired blindly behind them, more interested in slowing our pursuers than actually harming them. The alley led to a side street that looked like a promising escape route, but by the time we reached the alley's exit it was plain that we would have to turn and fight; The soldiers were too close for us to get away. Ilyana and Rolf kept firing while Oscar directed the rest of us to form up in a semi-circle around the alley's end, creating a nice bottleneck for the Daeins. The first few soldiers reached us soon after, but because of the bottleneck they could only attack with a few men at a time. I blocked the attack of the first man to come at me, and simply held his lance in place while Nephenee stabbed him from the side. The others fell just as quickly, as our formation allowed us to attack with two of us to each one of them.

Seeing their disadvantage, the Daeins retreated into the alley to make room for their mage to drive us back. Fireballs began to fly in our direction once again, and we all took cover as best we could. Rolf loosed an arrow and brought down one of the soldiers next to the mage, then went scrambling away as a fire spell exploded where he had stood just moments before. Boyd, Nephenee and I flattened ourselves against the wall to one side of the alley, while Ilyana and Rolf took cover opposite to us. All of the others ran across the street and got to cover behind a low fence unharmed except for Mordecai, who suffered a nasty burn along his front leg. It seemed there would be no escape for us unless we could kill that mage.

"Where is the mage?!" Ilyana called as she finished casting a spell. She stayed hidden around the corner of the alley, sparks of electricity dancing between her hands as she waited for her chance to strike.

Unwilling to stick my head out to check, I rubbed the blade of my knife on my pants to make it shiny enough to use as a mirror, then stuck it around the corner. It took a few adjustments, but I was soon able to find the mage. Unfortunately, he found me as well and a ball of fire just barely missed the knife.

"OWWW, gorramit!" I yelled, holding my singed fingers. "He's on the left side in the first rank!" I stuck the knife back out to see if Ilyana was successful.

Ilyana nodded her thanks, stepped out into the alley's entrance and unleashed her spell just as the Daein mage began to conjure another fireball. The lightning bolt struck the flames the mage held and the two magical attacks merged, seeming to fight with each other for a moment.

"Uh-oh," Ilyana said.

"That can't be good.." I managed, just before all hell broke loose.

The Daein mage had just enough time to gaze at his hands in horror before the mixed spells detonated, their force magnified exponentially by the combined magic and the tight space. The soldiers disappeared as flames and debris shot out of the alley, their screams silenced by the mighty roar. A shockwave went ahead of the flames, blasting through the mercenaries and throwing us all to the ground.


	9. Chapter 9

Fire Emblem: Valiant Dawn

Author's note:

Hello readers, this is the last chapter in Port Toha, I swear. I know I originally said it would be two chapters, but I had to change because I ended up adding more to the chapter than I had originally intended. This will be the last battle chapter for a while, as I will be focusing more on character developement (support convos and bonus exp, yay!) while the Greil Mercenaries are at sea. Don't worry, I got stuff planned that I think will be pretty good. Speaking of which...

****Please Read!****

Okay, so I have been kicking this idea around in my head for a while, and I think it would be cool to insert another OC from Earth (not right now, but down the road a bit). Here's the cool bit; I really appreciate all of you awesome people who read and/or review this story, so I thought that I would give you guys the opportunity to make the aforementioned OC. I've got a rough OC template on my profile to give an idea of what I am looking for. PLEASE PLEASE let me know what you think of this idea in a review/PM. If it's a terrible idea and/or no one shows interest I will scrap it, but if people like the idea then I might be putting an official request for OC submissions in a future chapter.

Disclaimer: Fire Emblem, along with all its characters, settings and plots, belongs to Nintendo and Intelligent Systems. Firefly and Serenity, along with all their characters, settings, plots and pretty pretty spaceships, belong to Joss Whedon and Mutant Enemy. 'Frack' belong to those people who own Battlestar Galiactica. I own nothing.

Chapter 9

Desperate Flight

I lay in the street, an infernal ringing in my ears and my head feeling as though it were about to explode. The metallic tang of blood filled my mouth, and my tongue and cheek hurt like hell. My limbs felt sluggish, unresponsive. I could see, but it was all blurry, and for the life of me I could not fathom how I had come to be here, in the street when I had been over there just moments... _Explosion. I remember now, Daein soldiers after us... us? No, the others... my friends! _Some small part of my mind was putting the pieces together;_ Impaired motor skills and cognitive function plus a cloudy mind could mean a concussion, a mild one... maybe? _I thought._ Hopefully, 'cause I gotta check on the... the others, right. My friends could be hurt. _I knew I needed to take it easy, but my concern overruled all sensibility.

I pushed myself into a sitting position and as my vision cleared a bit I could see the alley, or what remained, directly ahead. The explosion had blown massive holes in the adjacent buildings, and flames were rapidly consuming what little support remained. As I watched the wall of one of the buildings groaned and collapsed inward, sending up a cloud of dust. Debris covered the ground all around me. Glancing to my right I saw Nephenee, looking just as disoriented as me.

"Y-you okay?" I asked Nephenee. She had a few nasty cuts, but nonetheless I received a groggy nod in response. She looked no worse off than me, so I moved on.

Using my sword for support until my head cleared, I walked over to Boyd. He was on his hands and knees, and he had blood running out of his ears. That would be... blown eardrums? Probably, considering even through the ringing in my ears I could hear him freaking out that his ears weren't working. Rolf must have been far enough away from the blast to have suffered minimal effects, because he seemed okay and was trying to calm his brother. They'd be fine. I heard shouts faintly, and there was a high pitched sound, almost like cries of pain coming from the direction of the alley... what? Oscar and Zihark ran past me towards those sounds, but that made no sense; The injured were all over here and all the Daeins were dead, had to be dead. The only thing over there was... something, but my mind was too clouded and confused, I couldn't place it. _ What would... the explosion was too intense for anyone in the alley to survive and we were all around the corner so nobody would've taken the full force of the blast. The blast? ...It was caused by... magic, spells from the Daein mage and... Ilyana!_

All pain and unsteadiness forgotten, I stumbled as fast as my feet would carry me to where Ilyana had cast that last thunder spell, where she now lay in the midst of the rubble. She was pinned under a wooden support beam that Oscar and Zihark were trying to pull off of her, and she was covered with cuts and burns. My hearing cleared a bit and I could hear the pained cries clearly whenever the beam moved, no longer just high-pitched noise. I knelt next to her, trying to assess her injuries and calm her down.

"Adam," she wheezed, her voice little more than a panicked whisper. Her breath was shallow and strained, not a good sign. "I... I think I'm-"

"You're gonna be fine," I lied, fighting to keep any worry from showing on my face. I did a cursory inspection of her cuts and injures. Most of them seemed superficial, and the burns looked painful, but not as bad as they could have been. None of these explained her weakness or the pool of blood she lay in. There had to be something I couldn't see. "Just try to hold still, they'll have this off you any minute now."

"Hurry... can't... breathe!" she gasped. I grabbed one end of the beam and helped them move it faster. We lifted the beam, taking pressure off Ilyana's chest and allowing her to breathe easier, but revealing another wound as well. A nail sticking out of the beam had punctured her upper thigh, and without the nail in there the wound began to bleed profusely.

Veteran warriors and no strangers to wounded comrades, Oscar and Zihark sprang into action. I froze though, shock and worry and fear for my friend paralyzing me. _She's gonna die, that's arterial bleeding. No way we could stop that fast enough to... Dammit Adam, snap out of it and FOCUS!_ Oscar had a tourniquet tied off and Zihark was pouring the contents of a blue vial into the wound. It must have stung because Ilyana's eyes went wide with pain. I had no idea how this magical potion-y healing stuff worked, so I just grabbed her hand and started talking to distract her.

"What kind of crazy, stupid move was that?" I asked, saying the first thing that came to mind. _Terrible thing to say to comfort someone, stupid me._

"It wasn't deliberate," she replied. God, she was pale and her hand was getting cold. _That's just the body restricting blood flow to the extremities to make up for blood loss_, I reminded myself. _She's not dead, so keep it together Adam!_

"Well, you kinda wiped them all out in one shot," I said, trying to keep her spirits up.

"Oh, well in that case it was my plan all along," she said with a half-hearted smile. She cringed suddenly as Zihark poured more of the elixir into the wound. I looked to him and Oscar expectantly, hoping for some good news. To my surprise and relief the flow of blood had almost completely stopped and the wound looked to be healing, albeit slowly.

"The bleeding has slowed down for now," Oscar said, his voice audibly relieved. "But she's lost a lot of blood. We need to get her to a healer soon."

"Mordecai will carry the little one to the ship. Mordecai cannot fight well with these burns," the big laguz volunteered. His left arm and leg were badly burned from the fire mage's attacks, but nonetheless he scooped Ilyana up gently and with little apparent effort. Zihark offered him some of the elixir, but he declined.

"Mordecai has felt worse, and there will be more soldiers to fight; Others may need it more."

"Alright everyone, let's get moving before the Daeins figure out we're still alive," Oscar called as he mounted his horse. We got everyone together and headed up the side street, Rolf pulling Boyd along since he had no idea what was going on. Oscar rode ahead to make sure the main road was safe.

"ADAM, I CAN'T HEAR ANYTHING!" Boyd yelled when he got close to me. "I THINK MY EARS GOT BROKEN." I waved him away, his yelling assaulting my already aching head. Nephenee groaned and covered her ears.

"Shuddup you stupid meathead, every Daein in Crimea can hear you!" Rolf snapped in an attempt to shut him up. It didn't work.

"WHAT ARE YOU SAYING? I STILL CAN'T HEAR YOU! OH GODDESS, AM I GONNA BE LIKE THIS FOREVER?"

"Boyd, SHUT UP!" Rolf yelled, really and truly annoyed.

"STOP TALKING SO QUIET, RUNT! DIDN'T YOU HEAR ME SAYING MY EARS ARE BROKEN?"

Okay, his ranting was pretty damn loud and it was making my headache even worse, so I grabbed him by the shoulders, turned him to face me and motioned to my mouth. I mouthed 'Read my lips.'

"EW MAN, I'M NOT GONNA KISS YOU!"

_Ugh, stupid meathead._ I tried again. 'I said read my lips, you idiot.'

"HEY THAT WAS MEAN- WAIT I CAN READ YOUR LIPS! JUST LOOK AT ME WHEN YOU TALK AND I CAN UNDERSTAND YOU!"

'Boyd, you're fine. Shut up.' I mouthed. He got it, and entered a sullen silence. Finally. We marched in silence until our side street rejoined the main road, at which point Oscar came riding back. The rest of us took the opportunity to stop and rest for a few moments.

"A large force of Daeins just passed by along the main road, they're probably going to check out the explosion, and I can hear fighting getting closer to the docks, so Ike and the others must be getting close. C'mon, we won't get a better shot at the ship," he called.

"There will still be a lot of men to fight, and I'm afraid you guys aren't in any shape to take them on," Zihark replied, glancing around at us doubtfully. Ilyana was going in and out of conciousness, Boyd, Nephenee and I were still a little disoriented and stumbling along, and despite his protests that he was fine, Mordecai's limp was getting worse. The only people truly fit for battle were Oscar, Zihark and Rolf.

"Well, we've gotta do something!" I replied. I checked Ilyana's pulse, and it was slow and weak. Same with her breathing; Not good. "She's getting weaker."

"Alright, alright, just give me a second..." Oscar paused, thinking. He glanced around at our ragged group, and it was clear he didn't like our chances any more than Zihark. "Can you guys fight?"

"Yeah," I replied, trying to convey confidence that I didn't feel. Nephenee nodded, but she looked no more sure of herself than I did. Boyd just mumbled something about not being hungry. Not sure why.

Oscar gave a resigned sigh. "Alright, you three hang back then. Defend Mordecai and Ilyana, but don't engage the enemy if you can help it. Zihark and I will lead the charge and carve a path to the ship. Rolf, focus your arrows on any groups that might get in our way, but stay close to us."

Rolf nodded as he nocked an arrow and moved up to a position that gave him a good view of the bridge leading to the docks. I drew my sword and took a moment to compose myself. My disorientation was finally fading, and I could ignore the ringing in my head for a little whie. With effort, I pushed aside my exhaustion and any worry for Ilyana and Mordecai, and reminded myself that mercy and hesitation would only get people killed. I couldn't do much about the knot of fear in my gut, but for once I was focused and I was more or less ready for battle.

Oscar led the way, Zihark close behind. There were six soldiers guarding the bridge, and just as they spotted us one of their archers fell with an arrow in his chest. Another archer loosed an arrow in Rolf's direction, but he was already moving to catch up with us and the shot was well clear of him. Oscar's lance speared the archer while his mount knocked aside a second soldier. Zihark caught another pair of soldiers, cutting them down in short order, while Boyd, enraged at the attack on his little brother, finally summoned the focus to bury a hand axe in the last man's skull. We reached the other side of the bridge, and finally came within sight of the docks. Between us and our ship, however, lay a huge square filled with Daein soldiers and none other than the Daein Commander himself. Fifty stunned sets of eyes turned themselves on us, and we all froze in our tracks. For a few confused moments, all was still and silent except for the far off sounds of the riot in the market.

"Goddess..." Nephenee finally breathed, voicing all our thoughts. To say we were royally fracked would have been putting it lightly.

"GET THEM!" Commander Mackoya screamed, and all his men sprang into action. Ten mounted knights charged first, their hooves clattering noisily on the cobblestones as they approached. Instinctively we all shrank back from the heavy cavalry, looking about for any way to escape them. The Daein foot soldiers began to follow, but a powerful gust of wind blasted through their ranks from behind, followed by a fireball that immolated a pair of axemen. Ike and the rest of the mercenaries had arrived at the other side of the square, and they tore into the rear of the enemy ranks with a fury. The oncoming horsemen slowed, glancing back uncertainly at this new battle. A shadow fell over them, and suddenly Marcia swooped down from above, the hooves and wings of her pegasus buffeting the riders and throwing several from the saddle.

"Now's our chance. CHARGE!" Oscar yelled, lowering his lance and urging his destrier forward. Boyd and Zihark made a beeline for the nearest groups of infantry, while Nephenee and I stayed close to Mordecai. Ahead, Oscar's lance tore a Daein knight out of his saddle just as Marcia came in for another pass. The two of them went to work, and in seconds half the knights were dead or unhorsed. One knight with a bow drew a bead on Marcia, but a pair of Rolf's arrows thudded into the soldier's back before he could shoot her down. Seeking easier targets, a trio of knights turned towards Mordecai, Nephenee and I.

"Look out!" I yelled. I motioned for Mordecai to keep moving as Nephenee and I interposed ourselves between the riders and our wounded comrades. Nephenee hurled a javelin at the first one and speared the horse through its chest. The second rider veered around the dead animal, but an arrow buried itself in his mount's flank and forced him to turn away. The third charged on unscathed, his lance leveled at Nephenee. She blocked the blow with her shield, and jabbed her lance in under the man's raised arm as he passed. I ran toward the downed rider, hoping to get to him before he untangle himself from the stirrups of his fallen mount. I was a bit too slow and he staggered to his feet, but he had no weapon and his helm had fallen off. One slash to the head, and he fell back down with his horse. _One more face for my nightmares_, I thought grimly as the corpse fell. _Wonderful._

The last rider circled around for another charge, this time looking at Mordecai and Ilyana. Before he could get any momentum. though, Rolf got off another pair of shots. One clinked off the knight's armor, but the second punched through his neck. He slid out of the saddle as our group ran by. Ahead, the Ike's group had fought their way to the ship and the healers, princess and merchants began to board, but there were still scattered pockets of Daeins between us and our only means of escape. Ike promptly turned his forces around to deal with the remaining Daeins. Mackoya was still alive, but his retinue of knights were either separated from him or dead. As I followed Mordecai toward the ship I saw Oscar, pulling his lance from the chest of his latest kill, turn his attention to the enemy commander. Mackoya saw the attack and charged to meet it, sword raised to deflect the oncoming lance. Mackoya only partially succeeded, the lance glancing off the sword to strike him in the shoulder. Oscar wheeled his mount around when he passed, brining hs lance around and stabbing down from overhead. Mackoya reacted similarily, once again deflecting the lance as he turned and countering with a slash that struck Oscar's breastplate, but didn't penetrate. Oscar snapped his arm down and grabbed his opponent's sword arm before he could retract, and brought his lance crashing into the side of Mackoya's head. The man slumped, and Oscar tugged the sword from his grasp and drew it across Mackoya's neck.

By this time, Mordecai had carried Ilyana right to the bottom of the boarding ramp for our ship. I let out a relieved sigh when I saw Rhys' distinct white robes waiting at the top of the ramp; Ilyana was gonna make it. We were safe.

"Adam, behind us!" Nephenee yelled. I glanced back to see a pair of Daein swordsmen running for the ramp, intent on preventing any escape. Limping and weighed down by Ilyana, Mordecai had no chance of outrunning them, so Nephenee and I turned back to buy him some time.

"Mordecai, get Ilyana to the ship!" I yelled as we turned to face the new threat. I blocked the first attack, but before I could even think as much as a _'Yay, me!' _the man struck with his shield and sent me staggering back. I kept my sword up defensively and just managed to keep the ensuing hail of blows at bay. Advantage gained, the Daein drove me back and to the right, bringing me back to back with Nephenee. The clash of weapons behind me told me she was making no more progress than I.

"Adam, switch!" she called between attacks. _What?!_

"What?" I yelled back. My enemy's sword almost slipped through while I was distracted, but I whipped my sword down and parried.

"Switch!" she reiterated, her voice taking on an almost desperate tone. _Dammit, what does she mean?_ I managed to regain even footing with my attacker, then smashed my sword into his shield several times, forcing him back a step and buying me a couple of seconds.

"What are you saying?!" I yelled back at Nephenee in frustration.

"Ugh, just turn ta yer left. Now!"

_Fine, whatever. _I felt Nephenee spin around to her left, so I disengaged and copied her. When I completed the turn, I found her opponent facing away from me as he tried to catch up with her. His shield and sword were aimed at Nephenee, offering a target any idiot could hit. _Oh, I get it now. Clever girl, _I thought as I brought my sword down hard on my opponent's back. He fell to the ground, screaming but not quite dead. I cringed at the cries of pain and looked away as I reversed my grip on the sword and drove it down, finishing him off quickly. With that death a sudden silence and stillness settled over the square, the last few Daeins turning tail and fleeing from the combined might of the Greil Mercenaries.

"I think that's the last of them," Nephenee said breathlessly, breaking the silence. Looking around, I could see that the square was littered with the bodies of horses and soldiers. Miraculously, all the mercenaries were still standing, although most of them bore wounds. Ike led the way back to the ship as they regrouped, sporting a bloody gash on his forehead but nonetheless helping a limping Brom along. Kieran was coated in blood, but whether it belonged to him or his enemies remained a mystery. Titania, Boyd, and even Soren were all a little battered as well, although Zihark and Mia had somehow remained unscathed; These two seemed more concerned with cleaning the blood off their swords before it could dry.

"C'mon, let's board the ship," I said to Nephenee. I cast one last, sad look at the carnage in the square before turning away and heading for the boarding ramp. I made it two steps before I heard a strange whistle and an arrow flew by, embedding itself in the ground ahead of me.

"Reinforcements!" Ike yelled from behind us. I turned back to see Daeins pouring into the square, returned from quelling the riots in the market. Leading them was a massive figure in black armor that could only be the legendary Black Knight. _Dammit, I knew I forgot something important about Port Toha,_ I thought. I watched in frozen horror as the massive knight closed in on the mercenaries, moving far ahead of his soldiers despite the weight of his armor. Before he caught them , though, a blue blur shot through the Daein ranks and blocked his way.

"Get to the ship! I'll hold them off!" Ranulf yelled. Ike looked torn for a moment, but gave in and headed ran for the ship. Ranulf engaged the Black Knight, and though the fight was too far away for me to get a good look, it seemed like he was holding his own. Of more concern to me was the line of archers who, after that first shot for range, took aim at the ship. More specifically, they aimed at the general area I was standing in.

"Shitshitshitshit SHIT!' I screamed. I scooped up a shield from the ground and held it above my head as I made a dash for the ramp. Arrows began to rain down on the ship and all around me and Nephenee. They must have attacked the other mercenaries behind me as well because I could hear cries of pain and surprise coming from them as well. The shield I held took several arrows, and I felt a jolt of pain shoot through my leg when I reached the top of the ramp. _Omygosh I got shot, oh man it hurts it hurts it hurts! _I thought in a panic. I took a few steps onto the deck of the ship and promptly dropped behind cover. Nephenee joined me a second later.

"They frackin' shot me!" I grunted, looking down at the arrow sticking through my calf. Oh man, it hurt. The other mercenaries began to board the ship, and the wounded were quickly pushed down into cover. The ship's captain approached Ike.

"All of your people aboard?" he asked anxiously. "I need to get this ship moving before any more of my crewmen get shot."

Ike looked sadly out towards where Ranulf was still fighting, but Lethe assured him that Ranulf would be able to escape on his own. "Yes," Ike replied. "Let's get underway."

The healers of the group were going through all the wounded, treating the most severely injured first. Mist assured me that my wound was minor, and gave me a quick jolt of healing magic for the pain before moving off to treat more seriously wounded people. With the pain mostly gone, I just sat back and watched the sails unfurl as the ship got underway. Another volley of arrows came in, but Soren used wind magic to blow most of them off course, and the sails absorbed the rest. The ship was well out of range before they could fire a third volley. The danger past, the ship's captain (Nasir, if memory serves) moved the ship out to the safety of the sea. At long last, we had escaped Crimea, and the princess was out of Daein's reach.

Author's Note:

Well, I think I have set a new personal record for procrastinating with my writing, but I have finally gotten this chapter done. Please leave a review let me know what you think of the chapter, I'm always happy to hear from you guys. Also, please let me know what you think of the OC idea I mentioned in the author's note at the beginning of this chapter, because I absolutely need feedback about that.

Before I finish typing this, I just wanted to wish you all a very merry Christmas (or happy holidays if you don't celebrate Christmas), and a happy New Year in case I don't get another chapter posted before then. You guys are all awesome, and I am lucky to have such kind and helpful readers. I go forth now to devour turkey, so until next time, seeya!


	10. Chapter 10

**Fire Emblem: Valiant Dawn**

**Chapter 10**

Author's Note: Okay, I got a lot of positive feedback on the OC thing, so I will go ahead with that plan. I'm actually pretty pumped to see what happens with this. Some people thought it would be better to wait until part two, and while I understand why that may be quite frankly my plans for the story require it to happen somewhat sooner than that, say around chapter fifteen or so. I will still need time to edit and finalize the template, but there will most definitely be a request for OC submissions coming up soon. Thank you all for providing feedback, it is most helpful and I am glad to know that you like the idea.

Disclaimer: Everything belongs to Nintendo and Intelligent Systems. I own nothing.

**Chapter 10**

_Bonus Experience: Not as easy as one might think..._

"Mmmmmfgh!" I let out a muffled scream as waves of pain shot up my leg. "Stop moving it around so much!"

"I barely touched it," Nephenee replied as calmly as she could while fighting to keep my wounded leg still. She sighed in exasperation as I twisted again. "This'd be easier if ye'd just sit still!"

"Easy for you to say, you don't have an arrow sticking through your- OWWWWW!" I yelled as she broke the arrowhead off. "Now you're just doing that on purpose!"

"Oh, ye're actin' like a baby-"

"Y'know what? I'll just take the thing out myself." I declared as I pushed her hands away from the wound. _All I gotta do is keep my hand steady_, I told myself. _It'll just be a little pain._ I took hold of the shaft, and felt a little pain, but nothing like when Nephenee had tried to remove it. _Okay, no big deal. Nice and easy... _Taking a breath to steady myself, I pulled on the arrow.

"OOOOOWWWWWWW!" I screamed again, only this time my hand jerked and twisted the arrow around even more. The wound was torn open even wider, making my calf burn with searing pain. I let go of the arrow and clenched my hands into fists, slamming them against the cot I sat on until the pain passed.

"See? I told ye, ye shoulda waited for a healer," Nephenee said when I quieted down again.

"Nuh-uh," I managed. It felt like my leg was on fire every time I moved. _Yeah, pull it out yourself. Great idea, dumbass. _"They're busy, I'd be waiting for ages. No time for that."

"Alright, if ye insist..." Nephenee suddenly took hold of the arrow and pulled it out in one quick motion. I fell back on the bunk and though the pain was intense, it lessened quickly without the arrow twisting around in the wound. There was a nasty sting as Nephenee cleaned the wound, but she wasted no time bandaging it up tightly. I took several seconds to compose myself, then sat up.

"I think I'm okay to walk." I got up, slowly putting weight on the wounded leg. It hurt, but it held me up.

"I don't think ye should be doin' that just yet," Nephenee said, putting a gentle hand on my shoulder and trying to steer me back to the cot.

"Thank you for helping me, Nephenee. I'll be fine," I said with a dismissive wave as I limped towards the door, stumbling occasionally when the ship swayed. _I'm not gonna sit around waiting all day, I gotta be sure she's okay. _Once the ship was safely away from Port Toha, the healers had begun to triage the wounded and get them off the deck for treatment. Those with minor wounds, like me, had been relocated to cabins in the aft section of the ship, while the more severely wounded were tended immediately by the healers. Nasir, the captain, had temporarily given up his own quarters to allow Rhys plenty of room to work on Ilyana. I was pretty worried, but I couldn't go and check on her with an arrow in my leg. Fortunately, I had been able to convince Nephenee to help me remove the arrow without a healer present. _Now, all I have to do is get down the hallway, and if I remember correctly the captain's cabin is-_ My thoughts were rudely interrupted as the ship swayed again, making me lurch like a drunken idiot and crack my head into the door jamb. "Oww." _Okay, maybe I'm not so good with walking just yet. Stupid gorram boat! _Nephenee grabbed my arm to steady me, and steered me back to the cot.

"Ye're not goin' anywhere. C'mon, lay down an' rest for a bit before ye hurt yerself." I started to protest, but she cut me off. "Ye need to rest," she reiterated forcefully. "It's for yer own good." She was right; That last fight took more out of me than I realized, and I couldn't deny that the bed was pretty darn comfortable...

"But I gotta go check on-" I tried to protest once again.

"I'll go see how she's doin', as long as ye stay put," Nephenee offered.

"...Alright, okay." _That works, I guess. And man, I'm tired._ "Nephenee... thanks," I said as she left. I couldn't be sure because of her helmet, but it looked like she smiled in response. Once she was gone, I lay down on the bed, propping my leg in a more or less comfortable position. I hadn't planned on sleeping, but after a few seconds my eyes just kinda closed on their own. _Ah well, I'll just rest for a few seconds..._

* * *

I opened my eyes again, realizing that I must have fallen asleep. There was still light coming through the cabin's porthole so I couldn't have been out for very long, a few minutes at most. I sat up, and was surprised to feel no pain or dizziness. My concussion was gone, along with the ringing in my ears. I performed a quick self-inspection, and found my arms free of the cuts and splinters I'd received from the explosion. My armor had been removed and was stacked neatly at the end of the cot, and sure enough, when I pulled my shirt open I saw that the cut I had received from the vigilante leader was gone, not even a small scar marking its place. My leg felt much better as well, it had no difficulty supporting my weight when I stood, and without the concussion to disorient me I was better able to deal with the rocking of the ship. _A healer must have seen me, so maybe I was out for a few hours, not minutes._ I tried not to think about them removing my armor; I understood that it was necessary, but it was still kinda embarrassing. _Hopefully it was Rhys and not one of the girls. That would just be suuuuuuuuuper awkward and wierd. Dammit Adam, focus on something else!_ I noticed a note next to the stack of armor, so I read that to distract me.

_You wer asleep and I coud not wake you up, so I just left a note. Your freind is __okay, but she said you owe her food for kiling al the soljers. Also, you snore alot._

_ Neph._

A surge of relief passed through me as I put the note back down and started pulling on my boots. Even though we were at war, I couldn't bear the thought of losing one of my closest friends here. _Good to know that she's okay,_ I thought. _ And I already knew that I snore, it's woken me up on many an occasion. Super scary when it happens too, 'cause it sounds like some giant alien is attacking you. That's some truly scary shit right there. Also, you can't start a sentence with also. Also, since when are peasants literate? Oh well, maybe they have a higher quality of education here than in medieval Europe..._ By this time I'd managed to get my boots on, so I left the cabin, taking care not to smack my head on anything when the boat swayed.

After a few stumbles, I emerged on the ship's deck and promptly began to drool over how amazing it was. I hadn't had the time to appreciate the ship before, but now I could see that it- no, she was an absolute beauty. The construction of the hull looked like that of a medieval galleon, which had always been my favorite kind of ship, but the size of this one was closer to that of an eighteenth century ship of the line (minus the cannons, of course). The three masts were way taller than any sailing ship I'd ever been on, so tall that I got a little dizzy just thinking about how high up that crow's nest was. Nonetheless, I couldn't help but think about how spectacular the view must have been from up there. Even from down on the deck I could see miles of rolling waves with the coast of Tellius just visible in the distance to my left, and to my right... Rhys puking his guts out over the side of the ship. Lovely. I noticed Boyd was nearby leaning over the side as well, so I went over to say hi.

"Hey Adam! You're finally awake," Boyd called out when he saw me.

"Well, it's not like I was out for that long, just a few hours. I didn't miss anything, did I?" _Was it just a few hours? Come to think of it, I feel pretty refreshed for just a few hours' sleep..._

"A few hours? Ha! More like an entire day! And yeah, you missed a lot. Some Daein wyvern riders chased us, but we took'em out with the ballista." He indicated a ballista mounted at the front of the ship. The rack of ammunition next to it held bolts as tall as me; I could only imagine the carnage. _Strange, that wasn't in the game. Perhaps the game was not as accurate as I had thought... That's certainly a disturbing notion. _"They never even got close to the ship. Let's seeeee... oh yeah, Ilyana's awake, and Rhys says she'll be fine after a few days' rest."

"Yeah, Nephenee told me she was gonna be okay. Anything else?"

"Oh, the Deputy Commander's real eager to get everyone training now that we have free time, so you might wanna stay away from her," he cautioned me, looking around furtively just in case she was nearby.

"What's the matter, Boyd? You not up to a little sparring, or are you afraid that I might kick your ass?" I taunted. I was still nowhere near being able to beat any of the mercenaries, but I wanted to take advantage of the months we would be at sea to train. After all, if the plot stayed true to the game then I had an entire war to look forward to.

"No, that would never happen... it's just that I'm still getting used to being on a ship," Boyd said quietly. Come to think of it, he was looking a little queasy and he'd just been leaning over the side of the ship... I grinned knowingly, my joy at his discomfort made greater by the fact that I had spent a week at sea not long before coming to Tellius, so seasickness wasn't a problem for me.

"Never been at sea before, huh? Not used to the way the ship rocks back and forth like this all the time," I said, my grin growing as he looked more and more sick. "Don't worry, Ike said we'll be at sea for _months_. You've got tons of time to get used to that. Oooh, here comes another wave!"

Boyd just glared at me as the wave rocked the ship. He gulped and put a hand on his stomach. "How are you not bothered by this?"

"Oh, I got used to it pretty quick the last few time I was on a ship. Hey, wanna go get some food? I bet Mist would be happy to cook something for you!"

That did it. The thought Mist's cooking must have been too much for him. Boyd managed to wheeze out "You're an asshole," before leaning over the rail and losing his lunch.

"Adam!" a loud, authoritative voice yelled from behind me. "I see you've finally decided to get out of bed and join us. Time for you to start training!" It was Titania.

"Oh no," Boyd moaned. "I really don't feel up to training right now, Deputy Commander..."

"Take it easy, Boyd. Go lay down and get some rest, it will help with your seasickness," she said kindly. Boyd looked a little surprised, and happily went back to his cabin. Titania turned to me, her expression going back to scary mode. "If you're finished trying to make people sick, perhaps you should start training."

"Well, I can't really train without a sparring partner..." I said, realizing too late what Titania had in mind. _Shit, I hope she doesn't want me to train with..._

"Mia could use a sparring partner," Titania suggested. _Oh shit._ Mia was scary. And psychotic. And scary. Really, really scary. That girl takes training to the extreme, and there was no doubt in my mind that I would end up wounded even worse than I had been in the last battle.

"Yeeeaaah, I was just going to check on Ilyana, 'cause, y'know, I'm really worried and I've gotta be sure everything's okay with her," I said hastily. I wasn't really all that worried anymore, but it was certainly a convenient excuse to get out of training with Mia. Hopefully, it would buy me enough time to find some alternative.

Titania frowned, clearly not pleased that my training would be delayed, but she was too compassionate to deny me the chance to see my friend. "Alright, she's in the captain's cabin over there. Try not to disturb her, and remember that after you're done I want you training right away. Ashera knows you need it."

"Thanks, Titania- I mean, Deputy Commander!" I called over my shoulder as I dashed away. _Sweet, clean getaway._ I slowed right down when I got to the cabin door, and knocked gently in case she was sleeping.

"Come in," a unfamilliar voice called from within. I entered and closed the door quickly behind me before Titania had time to change her mind. Inside, Ilyana was sitting up in bed, with the newcomer Zihark seated on a chair next to her. More than a dozen empty soup bowls were stacked neatly at the foot of the bed, and Zihark held one last bowl for her to finish.

"Hey, how're you feeling?" I asked as I pulled up a chair of my own. She certainly looked better than she had the last time I'd seen her. Her skin had lost its deathly pallor and had returned to a healthier, pinkish hue. There were still bandages covering the burns on her right arm, but with Zihark's help it looked like she was back to her regular eating habits. Ilyana downed the contents of the last bowl he held out to her in one gulp before replying.

"Much better, thank you. Bill here was just helping me finish my lunch. Thank you Bill, you can be on your way now," she said, dismissing Zihark. The poor guy looked a little dismayed, and left without even correcting her on his name. Used to her flakiness, I just shook my head helplessly.

"You know he saved your life, right?" I stated more than asked. She looked a little confused.

"Who, Bill? I wasn't in any danger of starving, you know. I was just a little hungry, and it was Oscar who brought the soup. Bill just helped me hold the bowls," she explained, gesturing to her bandaged arm.

"No, not that! After the explosion, when you were trapped and bleeding out, he saved your life. Zihark pulled the beam off of you and used some kinda potion to close your wound." This seemed to genuinely surprise her. Perhaps she didn't remember all of what happened. "If it weren't for him, you could have bled to death."

"Oh my! Thank you for telling me, I'm afraid I don't remember much after the explosion," she admitted before pausing thoughtfully. "Does that mean I owe him food?" she continued, a bit of uncertainty in her voice. She clearly wasn't used to being indebted to someone. I groaned internally.

"No, but I don't think it would kill you to be nice to him, or at least get the guy's name right. He seems to have taken an interest in you," I added, remembering their first reactions to each other at Chalmun's Tavern.

"Oh, but I _was _nice to him! I let him feed me!" she replied, clearly pleased with herself for being such a nice person. Again, I shook my head helplessly. "So what brings you in here? I know Nephenee already told you that I'm alright, and you were in such a hurry to get inside..." llyana said, changing the subject.

"What, I can't visit my wounded friend without some ulterior motive?" I asked defensively. She just raised an eyebrow. I sighed, and explained meekly "Titania wants me to train with Mia." Ilyana started to laugh. "C'mon dude, it's not funny!"

"Oh yes it is! She would destroy you!" she chuckled. "Why not train with Boyd like you always do?"

"He's seasick, and I _might _have messed with him a bit and made it worse," I answered. _It seemed like such a great idea at the time. Karma's a bitch, I guess._

"Well then why not train with Bill? He's a good swordsman," Ilyana suggested.

"You mean Zihark," I corrected her.

"Zedark, of course. Go get him to teach you how to fight," she said, as if she'd known that all along. _Come to think of it, it's not such a bad idea. If I could become even half as good as him, it would still be pretty frakin' deadly. As long as he's okay with training me, that is._

"Good idea. I'll go ask him," I replied, finally feeling optimistic about training with someone new. "Hopefully he's okay with it."

"And hopefully once you're trained you won't be such a wimp on the battlefield," Ilyana added with an evil grin.

"Ah, I'm hurt!" I replied dramatically, putting on a mock-hurt expression. She chuckled evilly, then waved me out of the room. "Seeya later!" I called softly over my shoulder as I left. Outside, there was no sign of Titania, so I took the opportunity to seek out Zihark. I found him at the prow of the ship, leaning on the rail and gazing out over the water with a bored expression on his face. I jogged over to stand next to him.

"Hey Zihark, sorry to disturb you like this but I kinda got a favor to ask of you," I blurted awkwardly, not really sure how to start this conversation.

"Your name is Adam, right?" he asked, ignoring my question. "Ilyana's friend?"

"Yeah..." I replied uncertainly. The conversation was not going where I had wanted it to, but I opted to just go with it and see what happened. "We've been friends for a little while."

"Good, then I've a favor to ask of you as well. But I interrupted you, so you ask first," he said, looking both relieved and hopeful. _What have I just agreed to? _I found myself wondering.

"Yeeeaaah, so... I'm terrible at fighting. Ilyana's the only reason I've survived this long, and I can't keep relying on her to save me every time I get in over my head so... would you teach me to fight? I mean, if that's okay with you." _Oh please oh please, train me in your ways of being awesome!_

"Sure, I'd be happy to!" Zihark replied, actually sounding almost excited about the idea. I forced myself to remain outwardly composed while I thanked him, but inside I was having a super awesome happy freak out! _Yay, I'm gonna learn to kick Daein ass! With a sword! WOOOT!_ "One condition, though," he continued, putting an end to my celebrations. "I want you to help me get to know Ilyana. Don't worry, my intentions are strictly honorable!" he added quickly.

_Hmmmmm, would she be okay with that? I mean, setting her up with some guy in exchange for training is kinda... I dunno, sleazy or something. But on the other hand, I wanna get better, and it was her idea in the first place. Maybe I'll just give him some good advice and not actually get directly involved in... whatever the hell it is he wants to do. _I suddenly realized that I'd been silent for a long time, and Zihark was getting kinda anxious. "Alright, if you want to get to know her, just give her food. If you don't do that, she won't even remember your name."

"Really? But I just helped her eat. Isn't that the same thing?" he asked, more than a little confused.

"You'd think so, but she's... a bit eccentric. I don't really understand it, but apparently the distinction is important with her."

"Well, thank you for the advice. Any particular kind of food?"

"Not really, she will literally eat anything," I said, remembering the granola bar wrapper she ate the day I arrived in Tellius.

"Excellent! Well, time for me to hold up my end of the bargain. Follow me!" he said.

"Where we goin'?" I asked as we headed below the main deck.

"The cargo hold. It's being used for training so we don't get in the way of the crew."

"There's room in there? Well, I guess Crimea's not exporting much these days," I said, answering my own question. _Really, what would they have been able to pick up in Crimea anyway, aside from a company of well-paying passengers eager to get the hell out of there?_

Zihark chuckled. "Bloody invasions have a tendency to slow down trade. And yes, our supplies and food only take up a small portion of the hold. There is more than enough room," he explained. Sure enough, when we reached the cargo hold it was nearly empty, leaving a cavernous space for the mercenaries to hone their skills. Titania had several of the mercenaries training, but they only occupied one end of the hold. Zihark and I grabbed wooden practice swords and moved to the empty end. He tucked his sword into his belt and squared off against me.

"So tell me, how much experience do you have fighting with a sword?" he asked.

"Well, I've fought in a few skirmishes now..." I began. I recounted my exploits with the Greil Mercenaries, limited though they were, and felt a small swell of pride when I realized just how much crazy stuff I had survived. Perhaps I was not such a bad fighter after all...

"Interesting," Zihark said when I finished. "Well then, before I start training you, I'd like to test your abilities myself. Come at me with everything you've got!" he ordered, dropping into a fighting stance but leaving his sword belted at his waist.

I hesitated, unwilling to attack him when he was defenceless. "Won't you draw your sword?" I asked, confused. _Perhaps there's some kind of training etiquette I'm missing..._

"If I need to," he replied confidently, then motioned for me to attack. I was a little insulted by his choice to remain unarmed. _I'm not that bad,_ I thought. _ He'll definitely need to draw his weapon to block or parry._ I knew that I had no chance of winning this duel, but I suspected that he'd underestimated me and I meant to prove him wrong. I threw myself forward, using both hands in a downward, diagonal swing. Zihark shifted to the side, and my attack hit nothing but air. I recovered and swung horizontally at him, but he just stepped back and I missed again. I pursued him for a few minutes, slashing the air like a total idiot while Zihark dodged my attacks with small, almost leisurely movements. While I grew more and more tired, he didn't even break a sweat. Then, tiring of the farce, Zihark finally ended the fight. Instead of stepping away, he stepped into my attack, struck my wrist to stop my sword arm, then retracted his arm and struck me square in the chest, knocking the breath out of me and sending me crashing to the floor.

"Alright, we've got a lot of work to do," he said nonchalantly as I lay there gasping for breath. "I can see that you've trained with an axe wielder; Your attacks are straightforward and obvious, without any attempts at subtlety or defence. That style has its merits, but you currently lack the physical strength to take advantage of it. Worse yet, your own attacks are sending you off balance, leaving you very open to counter attacks."

I caught my breath and stood up, more than a little embarrassed, and retrieved my sword. I glanced over at the other mercenaries, dreading the anticipated laughs at my expense, but if any of them had seen me go down they were polite enough to continue their training as if they'd seen nothing. "So what? I'm completely hopeless, then?" I asked Zihark, not liking his assessment at all but realizing how very right he was.

"Not completely, you've just taken a very necessary blow to your pride. I think you're ready to learn now," he replied. This time he drew his sword when he faced off against me. "Ready your blade, and perhaps we can fix a few issues today." I obliged him, and he promptly came over and began making adjustments to my stance. "First, never take a low guard; It has its uses, but you are nowhere near being able to pull that off. In your case, it leaves your upper body exposed and delays your own attack while you bring the sword up. Keep the tip of the sword up towards your opponent, not pointed at the ground."

"Like this?" I asked as I mimicked the guard he was demonstrating.

"Yes, but don't grip the hilt so tightly; It's a sword, not a club!"

"Yessir," I replied, loosening my white-knuckled grip. The lesson continued for hours, with Zihark constantly making adjustments to my stance and technique. Once he was satisfied that I could hold a sword properly he began to train me mainly on defensive techniques like blocks and parries, explaining that I needed to learn to keep myself alive before worrying about hitting anything. I learned quite a bit, both about swordplay and about just how much I needed to improve if I wanted to survive the coming war. Even though he was not using his full strength against me, I still looked clumsy and awkward next to Zihark's precise and graceful fighting style. Even worse, I found that my strength and stamina were insufficient; After a few hours, my arms felt like they were made of lead, slowing me to a crawl and leading to fewer and fewer succesful blocks. Finally after what felt like forever, Zihark decided to call it a day.

"Good work today," he told me. "Go eat and get some rest, and meet me back here bright and early tomorrow morning."

I was exhausted, so I just grabbed some bread from the stores and ate on the way back to the cabin I shared with Boyd and his brothers. They were all snoring loudly when I got there, but regardless I was asleep by the time my head hit the pillow.

Over the next several days, Zihark spent every morning putting me through one brutal training session after another. When I wasn't training in combat with a sword, I was training with my fists or working on my upper body strength. Back on Earth, I had been in somewhat better shape than most of my friends, but on Tellius I was surrounded by warriors, not fellow nerds, and I had some serious catching up to do in terms of fitness. For that, Zihark sent me to climb up and down the ratlines on the outside of the ship, or had me haul crates across the hold on days when it was too windy. It was a grueling schedule, especially for the first few days, but one thing kept me going through all that; Little by little, I was getting better.

**Author's Notes**

Well there it is, I finally got around to posting chapter 10. Hope you enjoyed, please leave a review and let me know what you think of the chapter. I was gonna post this last week, but I wanted to add more to it and change the chapter title so I spent a week doing that, only to realize that I hated the new title and the section I'd added. So this is pretty much exactly what I almost posted last week, with a few tiny edits.


	11. Chapter 11

**Fire Emblem: Valiant Dawn**

Chapter 10x. & 11

Author's Note: Hello again, dearest readers. Just thought that I'd reply to a few reviews from the last few chapters, so here goes.

SineGloria: Sorry, but the OC lacks both the training and knowledge to diagnose internal injuries, and definitely lacks the ability to cut someone open and perform surgery without killing them. Adam's knowledge of anatomy is purely theoretical; He knows where everything is, but not much about fixing things. That bit about medieval medicine and how to extract arrows (as Adam did in chapter one) I actually learned through my research into the english longbow and its use during the middle ages. All that aside, there will be times, once the war with Daein really gets started, when healers are not available/around for some reason (I'm not gonna say more), so the characters may have to get creative when people are wounded. No plans for medical drama at this moment, though.

Tom-Ato13: Okay, you asked for music. Here ya go.

Chapter 10x. Training Montage!

Pehnehnehnehnehnehnehneh DUHN! nehnehneh DUHN! DUHN! DUHN!

nehnehnehneh DUHN! DUHN! DUHN! nehnehnehneh DUHN! DUHN!

DUUUUUUUUHHHHHHHHH! THE EYE OF THE

TIIIIIIGERRRRRRRRRRRRRRR!

Archsage12: Glad you like that little mutually abusive friendship/rivalry between Adam and Boyd. Oddly enough, I never had any plans to include Boyd in the fic as a main character, he just kinda showed up in chapter 3 and I discovered that his character is a ton of fun to write.

Nekuromansa000: Yes, characters will die, but that will be later on in the fic. Naturally, I'm not gonna say who or when. I've even toyed with the idea of killing the main character off, so basically no one is safe.

There, that wasn't necessarily all the reviews I had comments/replies for, but those were the ones at the forefront of my mind. Thank you all for your continued support. Now, for this chapter I thought I'd try writing something different from what I normally do, so I apologize if the following is kinda really terrible.

Disclaimer: Blah blah blah, everything belongs to Nintendo blah blah blah, I own nothing but the OC, blah blah blah. You know the drill.

Chapter 11: Starlight

I lay awake in the dead of night, a vague sense of unease keeping sleep at bay. The cabin was dark, with only a sliver of moonlight seeping through a crack in the wall. Everything was silent; No snoring from the three brothers with whom I shared this cabin, none of the usual daytime hustle and bustle of the crew, no whistle of the wind or splash of the waves, just an oppressive silence that seemed louder than all those things together. A shuffling sound from outside on the deck broke that silence, and the sliver of moonlight disappeared for a second as someone passed by. I sat up, suddenly tense, when the shuffling stopped. I listened, all of my senses on high alert, but there was no sound. Shaking my head and chiding myself for jumping at shadows, I lay back down and closed my eyes. The shuffling resumed, this time stopping right outside the cabin door. I stubbornly refused to open my eyes, it was nothing and would soon be gone. _Just go to sleep_. A horrid scrapping sound blasted those hopes away, and a gust of wind blew through the room as the door was thrown wide. My eyes snapped open again to see a grotesque figure silhouetted in moonlight enter. It wore the bloodstained outfit of a Daein prison guard, and its breath hissed through a jagged tear in its neck as it shambled towards me. I scrambled back on my cot, pinning myself against the wall in terror as I tried in vain to escape. Dead, angry eyes glared right at me and the corpse's hands reached...

I screamed and bolted upright in my bed, tearing the dagger I kept nearby out of its sheath. The room was empty, save for my companions sleeping soundly in the other beds. In the bunk above me Boyd snorted, then rolled over and returned to his regular snoring, unbothered. There was nothing, no corpse, just the lone sliver of moonlight shining through the crack in the wall. With shaking hands I sheathed the knife, then swung my legs out of bed and sat there for a moment, head in my hands. Taking deep, shuddering breaths I gradually slowed my racing heart and brought myself back to reality. _Another night, another nightmare,_ I thought drily. Once I had settled into a routine on the ship, once I no longer had battles and running from Daein to keep my mind occupied, the nightmares had started. They changed a bit from night to night; One night an archer with a dagger through his eye would come for me, the next a knight with a cloven head. The details didn't really matter, the fact was that I had killed each and every single one of them and their faces were forever burned into my subconscious. There was no point trying to sleep now; It would elude me for the rest of the night, as it had every other time, until I could get my mind off of it. With a sigh I got up from the bunk, pulled on a shirt and headed out quietly for the deck to get some fresh air. I went out the door, fighting back the last bit of fear that something was waiting just on the other side, then closed it softly behind me so as not to wake my companions.

Outside, a cool breeze rustled the sails as it blew off the water, and waves lapped against the hull in a rhythmic, soothing tune. There were a few crewmen on duty but they were far away and looked half asleep, so I stood at the rail undisturbed for several minutes breathing in the crisp, salty air and calming my nerves. It was a cloudless night, and I found myself noticing how full of stars the night sky was, so very different from the sky in my home. On a sudden impulse, I swung myself out onto the rigging and started climbing towards the crow's nest at the very top of the mainmast; The view from up there would be spectacular with no sails or rigging to get in the way, and since I wasn't going to be getting any sleep I might as well enjoy the night. The climb took me only a few minutes thanks to Zihark's brutal training regimen, with only a few proverbial butterflies in my stomach because of the height, . As I pulled myself over the edge of the crow's nest, however, I found it already occupied by a very surprised Nephenee.

"Hey... I didn't think anybody'd be up here," I said uncertainly, silently berating myself for that stupid assumption. _Of course there would be someone up here to keep watch. Duh._

Nephenee hurriedly adjusted her helmet to further cover her face before replying. "I, uh, couldn't sleep so I took the night watch. Just needed some time ta meself..." she trailed off, looking down at her feet and clearly struggling with something.

"I'll leave you alone then. Sorry to disturb you," I apologized, shifting my feet down onto the rigging to begin the long climb back down. A slight shaking started in my arms as they once again took my weight; _Apparently I need to work out more._

"I-it's okay, ye can stay. I was gettin' kinda lonesome anyway," Nephenee replied before I could go far. Not about to argue with the chance to take a breather, I hauled myself inside the crow's nest, delighted to once again have something solid to stand on and suddenly glad to no longer be alone. _ Perhaps a little companionship tonight will do me some good. _We were both silent for some time, but then again we were the two most awkward people in the company (unless you count Kieran, but he's really just insane) so it was hardly surprising. I stood there for many minutes just enjoying the breathtaking view of the stars and the moon before I finally spoke.

"You know, I almost never got to see a sky like this back home," I remarked in awe, keeping my voice quiet lest I ruin the moment.

Nephenee chuckled at the absurdity of my statement. "It's the same sky no matter where ye are in Tellius. Have ye been livin' under a rock?" she asked incredulously.

_Oops, I slipped up there_. "Did you just laugh? I didn't think you knew how," I said lightly, trying to change the subject. She just looked at me expectantly, awaiting an answer. "Ummm, my home is pretty far from Tellius," I replied reluctantly, being decidedly vague so she wouldn't think I was crazy. She cocked her head inquisitively, so I simply added "Trust me, you won't have heard of it."

"How come ye can't see the sky? Seems silly to me," she asked, clearly a little curious.

_How to answer that? Light pollution isn't exactly a big issue in this world_... "In my home the cities are huge, way bigger than anything here I'll wager, and they have buildings many times taller than this ship. Everything is always lit up, even at night, so brightly that you can see the light from really far away, even when you can't see the city itself. It can make for a really beautiful view of the city at night, but the problem is that light blots out the sky, so I have to go somewhere pretty remote to see the stars," I explained. _It really is a shame no one thinks to just turn off some lights at night; They're all missing out on this back home._

"That sounds incredible, even if it does blot out the stars," Nephenee said, looking off to the distance as she tried to envision a giant, glowing city. "I'd like to see that someday, if I live through this war."

"So would I..." I added so quietly only I could hear as a little homesickness started to creep in. Avoiding that particular emotion I returned to looking at the sky and just let my mind wander as I enjoyed the view. Bloody wars or no, this world definitely had its perks.

"Ye must've come an awful long way to fight with us. Why'd ye do that?" she asked, tilting her head to one side as she considered me. Before I could throw out a sarcastic comment about leaving her in prison, she added hastily, "N-not that I'm not glad ye're here, I mean, I'm grateful to be outta that prison, but still..."

This would take some creative storytelling. There is no way she'd believe the real story. I was lucky the first few people I told believed me, and Soren still almost killed me over that. "Well, it wasn't on purpose. I was travelling on my own, got a bit lost, one thing led to another and I wound up here. Stumbled into the middle of a war and joined up because there was really nowhere else for me to go. Not a very interesting story, I'm afraid. How about you? How did you get involved in all of this?" I already knew a bit, but it never hurt to ask.

"I'm from a small farmin' village east o' the capital. I joined the militia when I heard about them Daeins sackin' villages an' killin' farmers. I was just so worried that they'd do that to me family, so I marched off to stop them. Pretty foolish, I know; What're a bunch of peasants gonna do against an army like that? But at the time we were all so fired up, we thought we could take on Ashnard himself. Well anyway, ye saw how that turned out; Most of us ended up dead or in prison."

_Damn_, I thought. _Their commander must have been stupid or desperate to throw untrained peasants at a professional army. Militia with local knowledge and such would be more suited to guerrilla warfare; They could have supported Renning's army and forced the Daeins to deal with threats on multiple fronts, putting them in disarray. It would have at least slowed down the Blitzkreig-style attack long enough for other Crimean lords to muster their own armies and reinforce the capital_. I didn't say any of that, though; The battle was long over, and there was no need to lessen their sacrifice. ""Hey, I can't say I'd do any less if my home were invaded. Don't worry, though; We'll pay those Daeins back for what they've done just as soon as we get an army."

"Ye sound pretty confident. How d'ye know Begnion'll even care? How d'ye know we won't be too late even if we get an army?"

"I don't. Ike and the Princess haven't let us down yet, though, and I've got faith in them," I said, trying to reasure her. No doubt she was worried about her family. "Besides, Daein needs people to work the land or there's no point in conquering Crimea. I'm sure your village will be fine. Those first massacres would have been to make people fear Daein, and fear keeps the people from revolting."

"If ye're tryin' ta make me feel better ye're doin' a rotten job," she commented drily. She chuckled again, but this time it sounded forced. "But thanks fer tryin'."

"What I'm trying to say is that we're in more danger than your village, so if you live through this then you'll see your family again."

Now her smile seemed a little more genuine. "How 'bout yerself? Will ye be goin' home when all this is over too?"

"... I don't know. Maybe, if I'm lucky." My odds weren't good, but perhaps if I could get my hands on one of Daein's researchers...

"Well, I hope it works out for ye as well. D'ye miss yer family? Ye must've been apart fer a long time..."

I gulped to force the lump in my throat away before answering. "Every day. I'm sure you know the feeling."

She nodded and gazed off into the distance for a while. Just when I was about to break the silence she finally spoke again. "Me dad used to take me up on a hill near my village ta see the stars on clear nights like this," Nephenee reminisced, her voice taking on a sad tone. "Ever since I was just a small lass, we'd sit out there an' talk 'bout... well anything, really. The important part was that it was just us; It was our thing, ye know?"

"Yeah, I know what you mean," I remarked wistfully, closing my eyes as fond memories of home surfaced. Despite myself I smiled, thinking about some of the good times I'd had. "Sounds like you and your father were pretty close."

"...We were. Learned just about everything I know from him; He taught me how ta hunt an' farm an' take care o' the animals, where all the roads and trails around the village go, and how ta read an' write a little. He even showed me some tricks fer barterin' with merchants whenever they came through town. He was the leader of the local militia that kept bandits an' such away, so he was the one who taught me ta fight too, even though I don't think he ever wanted me ta have ta use what I learned. He was always there fer me, always lookin' out fer me. I... I really miss him." Her voice cracked as she spoke. I assumed she was homesick, like me.

I didn't want her to cry, I had no idea how to deal with that and if she cried there was a good chance I would too, so I did my best to be supportive. "Hey, once we've won this war you'll see him again. I'm sure your dad's at home just waiting for you..." I trailed off as she turned away, one hand going to her face. A little sniffle came from beneath her helmet. _What did I say? _It took a second, but something she said finally registered. They_ were _close_, _he _was..._ Oh god. "I-I didn't-" I tried to say something, but the words stuck in my throat. "I had no idea. I'm so sorry."

Another sniffle came, louder this time. _Oh man is she crying? I have no idea how to deal with that! _I reached for her hand, but pulled back before I got close. _What do I do? Why is there nobody else here to deal with the emotional stuff? Where is Mist or Titania when I need them? _I glanced around nervously, but there was no one else. _Well, I have to do something_. I had no better ideas, so I put a hand on her shoulder, a little afraid of how she'd react (especially since the last time I tapped her on the shoulder she almost impaled me). To my surprise she grabbed that hand, gripping tightly as her shoulders bobbed with silent sobs.

"W-when did..." I said softly, thinking it might be best to get her to talk about it. _That's supposed to help with the loss of a loved one, right? _I wasn't really sure how to ask that, or even if I should, but I had to say something. "Was it at the prison?" No response. I'd heard nothing about this before so she must have been keeping it all bottled up for quite some time. "If you don't wanna talk about it that's okay, but just... for your own sake you gotta talk with somebody, okay? Once you're ready." _Ugh, I'm terrible at this emotional stuff. What the hell am I even doing? I'm probably just making it worse for the poor girl. _"Do you, uhh... want some time-?"

"It was just before I got captured," she interrupted, finally finding her voice. "Not at the prison." I stood in shocked silence, not sure what to think or do. In the end, I just chose to keep listening. She took a deep breath to regain a bit of her composure, and continued. "A-at the battle, he... we were a bunch of half-trained farmers with just a couple'o experienced soldiers, and everything just went ta hell in a matter o' minutes. Me dad, he- he took the rearguard with some volunteers so I- so the wounded could get away, but there were so many soldiers..." she trailed off again, pain evident in her voice even though her face remained hidden.

"There was nothing you could've done," I told her. It wasn't much of a comfort, but what else could I say?

"T-that ain't true! I shouldn't've even been there! He didn't want me ta join the militia but I was so angry an' I wanted ta make Daein pay fer threatenin' me family. I-if I hadn't been there, if I wasn't wounded-"

I cut her off, taking her by the shoulders and spinning her to face me. "Nephenee, don't do this to yourself," I said, looking her right in the eyes. Even with the helmet- _why does she think she needs that? _- I could see her eyes were red from crying, and her cheeks were streaked with tears. "Okay? Don't go there. It was not your fault. Your father sounds like the kind of man who would've put himself in that rearguard whether you were there or not, and I'm betting wherever he is now he's just glad you're safe." I had no idea what Tellians believed in terms of afterlife stuff, but hopefully that helped. I didn't really have much else, so I pulled her into a hug. "Don't think about the battle, okay? Forget about the war, forget about Daein. Think of that hill, think about how happy you guys were back then. Remember him that way." She nodded, and to my surprise hugged me back. I had no idea how long we stood there, I just waited for her to get it out of her system. After what felt like ages but was likely no more than a few minutes, she pulled back to arm's length.

"Thanks, I-I needed that," she said, casting her eyes down and looking a little embarrassed. "Sorry 'bout fallin' apar-"

"Don't apologize, Nephenee. Everyone needs to have a good cry sometimes," I interrupted. I couldn't quite put my finger on it, but she looked better somehow, as if letting out all those pent-up emotions had finally given her a bit of peace. The sadness was still unmistakably there, but it was no longer overwhelming. "You feel better?" I asked, just to be sure.

"Yeah, a little. And it's just Neph," she answered. I looked at her quizzically; I'd never heard anyone call her Neph. She clarified. "Me friends call me Neph."

I was speechless for a second as her statement sank in. _I mean, we've fought together on several occasions, but that was more out of necessity than any actual bond, and this is only the third conversation we've ever had. Sure, I just got her to open up about some pretty painful stuff, but that's just being a good... yeah okay, I guess we are kinda friends. Besides, she obviously needs a friend right now, so I'll do what I can to help._ "Alright, Neph it is, then," I replied with a smile. We stood in silence for a little longer, until Nephenee- no Neph let out a yawn.

"Hey, ummm... I'm actually a little tired, so I was gonna head down," she whispered. "Ye comin'?"

"Yeah, I'd better get some sleep. Zihark will kick my ass if I start yawning again during training," I admitted. I was exhausted, which meant lovely and hopefully dreamless sleep awaited. "I'll, uh, seeya tomorrow?"

"Sure." Nephenee went over the side of the crow's nest, but stopped just before her head disappeared from view. "Was there anythin' ye needed ta talk about? 'Cause I'd be happy ta listen if ye need to..."

Suddenly, I felt terrible for lying to her about my origins earlier. I silently vowed to rectify that when the opportunity arose, but I didn't feel like dropping all that on her just yet. "Perhaps another night," I replied. "I appreciate the offer though."

"Alright, well g'night," she said as she began the climb down. I waited for her to reach the bottom (I didn't feel like trying to climb down while another person was shaking the ropes), the returned to my cabin and entered a deep, nightmare-free sleep.

Author's Note: So yeah, that was a little different from my previous stuff and I honestly have no idea if it was any good, so if you've stuck with the chapter this far then please leave a review and let me know how I did. Your feedback (good or bad) really helps me to improve my writing. As for the OC thing, I will put out an official request along with a finished template in the next chapter. I look forward to seeing the results of that.


	12. Chapter 12

Fire Emblem: Valiant Dawn

Chapter 12

Author's Note

**It's official, I am now asking for you, my beloved readers, to submit OC's. Just want to set some ground rules (nothing too restrictive, I promise). First, I am going to ask that you only submit OCs via PM for several reasons that I don't have the energy to explain. Second, no overpowered OCs (I figured that's obvious, but just to be sure). **For example, don't make an acrobat/mercenary/multi-billionaire superhero who speaks fifty languages, slaughters everything bad, bangs all the ladies, and then drives home in his spaceship to feed his pet unicorn. I can say with 100% certainty that character will not appear in the fic. ** Third, and this is the most important one, the OC must be from Earth, circa 2012. That is all. **Only one OC will appear in the story at this time, but others may show up later... (no big roles planned yet, but my plans are far from complete). The OC will appear in chapter 13. Anyway, just fill out the big ol' template below, and feel free to add anything you think I missed.

**OC Template**

I saw some templates on other profiles, but none of them were quite what I was looking for, so I made my own. It's kinda really long, but I _think _its got everything I could possibly need... hopefully. And yes, colour is spelled like that in Canadian. **Bold text means required. Others are optional, but could help me write a more accurate portrayal of the character.**

**Name:**

**Gender:**

**Age:**

**Hair (colour, length):**

**Height (feet/inches):**

**Approx weight (lbs):**

Distinctive feature(s):

Additional appearance details:

**Personality:**

**Likes:**

**Dislikes:**

Reaction to stress:

Favourite/common exclamations:

Motivation (ie. do they want to get back to earth, or start a new life in Tellius?):

Additional personality details:

**Origin - (ie. where was the OC when they got warped into Telius, who were they? etc.):**

**Strengths/skills:**

**Weaknesses:**

Phobias/fears:

**Prefered weapon/equipment:**

**Characters your OC would get along with:**

**Characters your OC would not get along with:**

Desired pairing (I make no promises, but if you want one I will try):

Knowledge of Fire Emblem (if any):

**Are you open to the possibility of your OC's death? (Not a guarantee of character death, just affects my options for the story): Y/N**

So again, if you want to submit an OC, please fill out the above template and sent it to me in a PM. I look forward to hearing from you guys. Replies to reviews and such will be at the end of this chapter.

Chapter 12

I had overslept. Again. Cursing my luck, I stumbled out of bed and hurriedly got dressed. _Shit, I am sooo late! Zihark is gonna kill me!_ Fumbling my shirt -_Dammit, I put my head through the arm hole!_- I dashed to the door, but turned back in a hurry, looking for my weapon belt. After a bit of struggling, I pulled my head through the correct hole so I could see and found the belt under the cot. My armor was stacked next to the belt, and for a moment I considered putting it on. _Gah, no time! _ I ignored the armor and ran out of the cabin, buckling my belt as I went. Just as I was about to emerge onto the deck, I stopped in my tracks, an ominous feeling of dread coming over me. Something felt... off. Wrong. The lower decks were empty. I listened, and all I heard was the faint lapping of waves against the hull and occasional footsteps on the deck above. That was very strange for this time of day. Not entirely certain that I was awake and that this was not just another of those stupid dreams, I cautiously went out onto the main deck.

Outside, the entire ship was shrouded in a fog so dense I could hardly see the mainmast ahead of me. The sails hung limp in the still air above, not so much as a slight breeze to fill them. Puffs of steam accompanied my breath, the morning chill made harsher by the lack of sunlight. I looked around nervously, the feeling of dread growing stronger by the second; In five weeks aboard the ship, I had never seen weather this strange. As I moved about the deck faint shadows resolved themselves into mercenaries and crewmen, and I could only hear their hushed conversations when I was very close. What I heard bothered me even more. The crew were experienced sailors one and all, and their worried tone dispelled any notion I had that the fog was nothing out of the ordinary. They huddled together around lit torches, glaring at the women and muttering superstitions.

"Baaaad luck, it is, bringin' so many womenfolk to sea," the grizzled bo'sun said to the men around him.

"Brought a curse on us, they 'ave!" a weasly watchman added, his head darting around nervously as though he expected the fog to swallow him any second.

I took a breath to steady myself and continued on my way. While I put little stock in superstition, something was still very, very wrong. Keeping close to the rail, I made my way up to the quarterdeck to see what the captain had to say. Hopefully it was nothing to worry about. To my dismay, when I found Nasir standing with a frowning Ike and Soren at the wheel, he seemed every bit as worried as his crew. I got close enough to listen in on their conversation.

"...anchor's been dropped. It's no use trying to sail when I can't even see the front of my ship. I'm sorry, but we're not going anywhere until it clears," he was saying.

"Is this a common occurence?" Ike asked, not at all happy about the delay. "How long until we can get moving again?"

"No, and I don't know," Nasir replied, his face troubled. He moved past the wheel and looked out over the deck. "There is no wind, there is no sound, and the water is far too calm for the open sea. In all my years, I have never seen or heard of anything like this."

"Well, if we're not on the open sea then we must be near land. Why not send a party ashore? Perhaps the locals can provide help," Ike suggested impatiently.

"No. There is something strange afoot here, and I will not send men so far out in this fog. What do you think, mage?" he asked Soren. Soren did not reply at first, his brow furrowed in concentration. Ike nudged him to get his attention, startling the mage. Nasir reiterated his question. "What is your take on it?"

Soren frowned. "I don't like this fog, Ike. It feels... unnatural. Tainted, even. Simple fog would never be so dense, and it should not deaden sound like this. I mean, I know there are men talking over there, but I can hear little more than a whisper. Worse, I thought I just sensed something more here, some undercurrent of magical energy. It's fleeting, unfamiliar, and I can't quite pin it down, but I know what I felt. I fear there is some dark sorcery at work here..." he trailed off, and his frown deepened. I chose that moment to cut in.

"Commander, what about the crow's nest? With the fog this dense and heavy, perhaps we could get above it," I suggested. I chose to operate on the assumption that this was natural fog. Magical fog just sounds stupid, and if I could prove it was just normal fog then I could also prove that Soren was wrong about something. That would be great. "A lookout and a few messengers could guide the ship out of this."

"I sent a man up there just a few minutes ago," Nasir said, his tone clearly conveying that he did not need _me_ to tell him that. "He has not yet returned, though. Perhaps it would be best to send another up to carry messages back and forth."

Ike's expression became worried at that statement; I'd warned him that in the game (or book, as I put it) corsairs from Kilvas attack the ship at some point, and while giant birds had occasionally been sighted in the distance, we'd agreed that an attack would be doomed to failure given the ship's ballista and experienced crew. Now, though, with the ship blind, deaf and immobilized by the fog, we were at our most vulnerable. But still, they couldn't find us in this fog, right?

"Let's make it two people, just to be safe. We don't know what else might be out there," Ike replied. Before he could ask for a volunteer, Rolf came running over, startling me.

"Oooh, I'll go Commander!" he exclaimed excitedly, having overheard the conversation. Rolf, with his overabundance of energy and constant need to prove himself to Boyd, loved climbing around on the ship's rigging and masts much to dismay of some of the mercenaries, who worried he'd hurt himself.

Ike frowned. "Rolf, I don't know-"

"I've got real good eyes and ears, and I can climb faster than anyone! I'll be a big help, you'll see!" Rolf interrupted eagerly. He sobered, realizing what he'd just done. "Umm, sorry for interrupting, Commander Ike," he added sheepishly.

Ike narrowed his eyes suspiciously. "This isn't some stupid stunt to impress your brothers?" he asked.

Rolf shook his head emphatically. "Nope, just trying to be helpful. C'mon, Commander Ike sir, you know I'm the best for the job! Besides it's just a little fog, how bad could it be?"

"I'll go with him," I offered. Boyd wasn't nearby, but I knew he would not like the idea of his little brother going up there alone. Soren scoffed at the notion. "Oh, would you rather go then, Soren? You're gonna climb all the way up there wearing that dress?" I shot back, gesturing at his mage robes. _Oh man, if looks could kill..._ I ignored him and turned back to Ike, smiling inwardly at that extra display of disrespect. "I've spent lots of time in the crow's nest sir, so I know my way up." Indeed, Nephenee and I talked up there on a fairly regular basis, so I could practically reach it with my eyes closed. _Come to think of it, I didn't see her on the deck_. I took a quick look around, but she was not within sight. Still, visibility was low so I wasn't too concerned.

"It's a _robe_," Soren replied venomously, glaring daggers at me. I returned a sweetly sarcastic smile, further infuriating him. He still managed to get in the last jab, though. "You know, perhaps it is best if you go up. After all, when you are killed or fall to your death it will hardly diminish our fighting strength."

"It's decided then," I said icily, trying not to show my annoyance. I found it helped if I imagined punching him in the face. With one last glare at Soren, I made my way to the rail and used it to guide me to the rope ladders that ran up the side of the ship. "C'mon Rolf, let's not waste any more of the lady's time."

"I'll beat you up there!" Rolf called as he dashed ahead. Indeed, he'd nearly climbed out of sight by the time I got out onto the ropes, and I hurried after him.

"Dammit, Rolf, don't get so far ahead!" _Yeah, he's definitely trying to impress his brothers._ I could hear him laughing in response, but the laughter grew fainter as he outdistanced me, vanishing into the fog. Alone now, I paused on the ropes as the fog seemed to close in around me. One of the sails hung limp to my right, but looking up or down I could see no other part of the ship. I was only about a third of the way up, but already the deck had vanished beneath me. I gulped, and butterflies in my stomach threatened to eject what remained of my dinner from last night. This whole situation was getting downright terrifying, and the thought of doing this to prove Soren wrong didn't seem so smart anymore. I silently cursed myself for being stupid enough to volunteer, and actually considered going back down for a second. _Wait, are you serious? You're gonna wimp out because of a little fog? This is no different from being afraid of the dark. Are you afraid of the dark? Not a chance, so suck it up!_ I berated myself. The realization that Rolf, a kid several years younger than myself, had made it up there no problem shamed me even further, and I redoubled my pace.

I reached the crow's nest and hauled myself over the edge, and was surprised to find the fog remained impenetrable even this high up. I was ready for Rolf to make some jab about how slow I was, but none came.

"Sorry I took so long, got a little hung up," I quipped when I got my feet under me, just to break the silence.

Rolf still made no response. He stood frozen, eyes wide with shock. My smile vanished as I followed his gaze to see the crewman Nasir had sent up lying sprawled on the floor, a loaded crossbow still in his hand. I too froze for a second, but snapped myself out of it and went to check on the man. I took his wrist in hopes of finding a pulse. There was none, but his skin was warm to the touch. Encouraged, I put my fingers to his throat, looking for any sign of life.

"Is he okay?" Rolf finally asked, his voice choked and worried.

I closed my eyes, frowned, and shook my head no. He was already dead. I looked more closely at the face to see who it was. One part of me was relieved to find that it was not a man I knew, and the other part felt horrid for being relieved. I propped the head up to close the corpse's eyes, and was revolted to feel the back of his skull squish at my touch. I pulled my hand back and found it slick with blood. I turned the body over to get a better look, and I nearly vomited when I saw the wound.

"W-what could've done that?" Rolf's voice matched the horror I felt. The back of the man's skull had been crushed by a single, mighty blow. His hair and neck were wet with blood, but there were no other wounds. Whatever did this killed him quickly and with incredible precision, but even more disturbing was the fact that he still held a loaded crossbow: He never knew what hit him and whatever it was, it was gone just as quickly as it had come. That meant that whatever it was, it probably wasn't human, and it could still be out there, hiding in the foggy air. My worst fears confirmed, I turned to Rolf.

"We need to get back down, right now! We're under attack!" _I don't know how they found us , but there's only one thing that could explain this..._

"B-but there's nobody-"

"Corsairs, from Kilvas," I explained urgently as I pried the crossbow from the corpse's hand, and watched as Rolf's face went white with fear. He started to move, but stopped again. "Rolf-" I started, but he held up a finger to silence me, cocking his head to one side as if listening for something.

"Did you hear that?" he finally asked, voice quivering only slightly. He nocked an arrow as he spoke, and began scanning the mist for any threat. I noticed that even though his voice and face betrayed his fear, his hands were rock-steady.

"No, I d- Wait!" There was a faint fluttering from behind us. I snatched the crossbow and spun towards it, but saw nothing. _Damned fog. _We stood back to back in tense silence, scanning the air around us. There were more noises, but it was hard to tell where they came from. Several times I snapped my aim one way to track a flicker of motion, only to have a flutter or caw come from my other side. Alone and exposed, I found myself missing my armor, even though the studded leather would be of little use against the sheer power of whatever had killed the crewman. I did a quick check of what I did have, and was not encouraged. I had a blunted tourney sword on my belt, great for training but useless here, which left me with the crossbow; It was loaded and felt similar to a gun, but the only other ammunition was in a quiver firmly strapped to the dead man's thigh, and I did not relish the thought of wrestling with a corpse so I could reload with my back to the threat. I would only get one shot. On a happier note, I knew Rolf could nock and fire arrows quickly, and the boy had keen senses. I glanced back at him. "You see anything?"

"Nothing." He was scared, terrified even.

My own breath was coming in short, laboured puffs as I drew closer to a full panic. A sudden urge to say 'fuck it all' and flee back down to the deck came over me, and I almost did just that. _What the hell are you thinking, you're gonna get yourself and Rolf killed! Grow a pair and hold your ground!_ I screamed in my head. I took a deep, steadying breath and shouldered the crossbow again, scanning for threats. I tried to discern some pattern to the noises and movement, telling myself that if I could just figure out where it - they? - were, I could somehow find a way to kill them first. I never found out.

"Adam, DOWN!" Rolf suddenly yelled. I heard the twang of his bowstring as I ducked, and something flew over our heads. Pain exploded in my right shoulder, and a black form vanished into the fog ahead of me. I raised my crossbow, but it was long gone. I held my shot.

"You okay?" Rolf asked as we went back to scanning. I felt warm blood running down my back, and there was a burning sting along my shoulder blade.

"I'm fine. Just a glancing hit," I replied, frustrated by my helplessness. _Damn, I hardly even saw it. How can anything move so fast?_ Once again, I dearly wanted some armor, just to feel a little more secure. More noise came from the left, and we both spun that way. Nothing, again. Just as I was about to give up on seeing anything, I caught a flicker of motion in my peripheral vision. It was the only warning we got. "ON THE RIGHT!"

Rolf saw it too, and was moving even before I shouted my warning. Quick as lightning he nocked and loosed an arrow, and the raven screeched in pain. The dying bird's momentum carried it right into us, hitting Rolf squarely with its body. Before I could even reach for him the pair crashed through the side of the crow's nest. Rolf dropped his bow and just caught hold of a plank while the raven, dead or unconscious, fell to the deck below. My wound forgotten, I threw myself to the floor next to him, reaching down for his free hand.

"Take my hand! C'mon!" I yelled. Rolf strained, but it was all he could do to hold onto the broken plank that supported him. I pulled myself closer to the edge, reaching further. I almost caught him, my fingers just brushing his hand. I leaned even further out, and braced myself to take the boy's weight. I tried again, but an ear-splitting shriek dashed my hopes as another raven landed heavily behind me. "NO!" I screamed in useless denial, grabbing desperately for Rolf. Something clamped down hard on my ankle, and I was yanked violently back away from the edge. "Hold on!" was all I could yell as I gripped the planks in a frantic attempt to stay there. The raven pulled again, harder, and I felt my ankle twist painfully. Splinters dug into my hands and cut my fingers, and I lost my grip. In an instant I was under the beast, and I twisted violently to face it. The huge black bird released my leg, but promptly pinned it again with a razor sharp talon. It snapped its beak down at me, but my thrashing just got my head out of the way. The beak smashed right through the planks beside me, answering the riddle of what killed the crewman, and I grabbed for my crossbow while it extricated itself. I clubbed viciously with the stock and the thing recoiled, giving me just enough time to bring the weapon around. Before I could line up the shot, it pecked again. The crossbow blocked the strike, but it cracked and the bolt went sailing off to the side.

The bird cawed in victory, but that cry turned to a pained shriek as I kicked its leg with my uninjured foot. Hollow, brittle bones broke beneath that blow, and it delivered another wicked peck in response. I blocked with the crossbow again, and although the weapon shattered, that deadly beak once again struck the planks next to me instead of crushing my skull. This time, I didn't give the creature any time to react. I wrapped one arm around its neck and dug my other thumb into the first soft spot I found, its eye. The agonized scream that followed deafened me, but I stubbornly held on as the beast thrashed about.

"Die, you goddamn FREAK!" I yelled, terrified and enraged beyond reason. The beast, shrieking and mad with agony, thrashed and twisted, whipping its neck around in a desperate attempt to dislodge me. To my credit I held on for a few seconds, but it finally smashed me into the side of the crow's nest. I slumped, tasting blood in my mouth. Luckily the raven, half blind and in agony, retreated to nurse it wounds. It would be back, but I had a few seconds to recover.

"I'm slipping!" Rolf cried, reminding me of his plight. I twisted and made a desperate lunge for his hand, and clamped down on his wrist even as his tired fingers slipped. He was small, but the sudden weight was too much for me, and I was pulled halfway out before my leg caught on some broken planks. I gritted my teeth and focused on not letting go of Rolf's wrist. Below, I could hear faint yells and shrieks, telling me that battle was joined down there as well. I tried to pull Rolf up to safety before the raven came back, but a hateful shriek from behind me told me I was too slow. I could do nothing but give a frustrated sigh as talons smashed into me and dislodged my leg. We slipped out of the crow's nest, and plummeted through the fog towards the deck.

For a few seconds I flailed madly with my free arm as we fell, and suddenly a green form flashed beneath us and a gauntleted fist seized me roughly as I landed on the scaly back of a wyvern. My shoulder screamed in protest as Rolf jerked to a halt at the end of my arm, but he held on. With impressive strength, our rescuer, a red-haired girl in crimson armor, hauled us close to her saddle.

"Grab onto something!" she yelled. I wasted no time wrapping one arm around a strap on the saddle, then hauled Rolf closer. She let go of me and took the archer, pulling him up to sit behind her in the saddle. Relieved to be free of the extra weight, I pulled myself into a sitting position and held on for dear life. Our rescuer, who I now recognized as the Daein wyvern rider Jill, returned her focus to steering the wyvern. Rolf had probably thanked her five or six times before I got over the shock of being on a dragon and remembered to thank her myself. She ignored us both. A screech from the right heralded the approach of yet more ravens, but Jill angled her lance to intercept one while her mount caught another in its powerful jaws. Two broken corpses floated down to the water below, and the other birds went off in search of easier prey. The danger past for the moment, I reached ahead and tapped her shoulder. She glared back at me.

"Look, thanks for the rescue and all, but our ship is back that way," I said once I had her attention. She rolled her eyes as though it were a stupid observation.

"I know, fool, but that group of sub-humans is fleeing this way," was all she said. I caught glimpses of black shapes in the mist ahead, and realized that she was less intent on rescuing us than she was on milking this battle for as much renown and glory as she could. Lovely. Worse yet, Rolf finally noticed the emblem on her armor.

"Uh, Adam. I-I think she's a Daein..." he said nervously.

"I can see that," I replied tersely. I addressed her again, hoping not to offend her and thereby prolong my life expectancy a bit. "Look, I'm sure you don't want us riding with you for any longer than is necessary, so if you could jus-"

"Shut it Crimean, unless you want to get dropped. BLEED THE HALF-BREED!" she yelled as she urged her mount onwards. One unlucky raven came within reach, and she speared it through the back. _Wonderful, I'm stuck on a dragon's back going directly away from where I want to go with a one-woman lynch mob. And she's from Daein, no less!_ Still, despite the Daein soldier sitting in front of me and the whole nearly falling to my death bit, flying was actually sort of exhilarating in a brown-your-trousers kind of way, so I just sat back and tried not to fall off for the duration of the chase.

Once she was satisfied that that particular group of ravens was sufficiently scattered, she steered her wyvern back in the general direction of the ship. The ship was lit up brightly when we returned, the copious number of torches gradually burning off that insidious fog and giving a clear view of the battle that raged on her decks. All across the deck I could see a confusing morass of men and birds, jabbing with weapons and beaks while the more experienced warriors tried to form some kind of cohesive defense. Jill landed her wyvern near the bow of the ship, driving a few ravens away from some crewmen.

"Hurry up and get down!" she snapped. "My wyvern can't carry three people around _and _fight these beasts." Rolf and I obliged quickly, and she lifted off again to battle yet another group of laguz. I looked around in bewilderment at the battle, unsure where to go or what to do. A bird swooped in at me, and reflexes kicked in as I drew my sword and slashed at it. The blunt weapon stopped its talons, but didn't cut through like I'd hoped it would. _Damn, forgot that was a training sword._ Rolf stabbed it with an arrow from his quiver, and looked revolted as blood sprayed onto his arm. The raven screamed and beat a hasty retreat, the wind from its wings driving us back before we could hit it again.

"We need weapons!" I shouted over the din of battle. Rolf nodded his agreement, and I motioned for him to follow me as we dashed towards the stern of the ship and the door leading to the lower decks. I kept low to avoid unwanted attention and the constant swooping attacks of those damnable ravens. The deck was slick with blood, and the human dead and wounded were scattered amidst the corpses of ravens. A dropped torch set a section of the ship ablaze, and crewmen desperately began trying to douse the flames. Rolf took a bow from a wounded crewman and began raining arrows on a group of laguz that were giving his brothers trouble. I continued alone until I reached the door, but had to stand aside as a pair of crewmen came rushing out with more buckets of water. Once they were past, I ducked inside and ran to my cabin. Outside, the sounds of battle grew louder and louder as I retrieved my armor and weapons, cursing every delay that kept me out of the battle. Despite my cut shoulder and bruised ankle, my blood was pumping and I was eager to get back in the fight. Ike's rallying cries from outside only added to my urgency as I struggled into the leather shirt.

Buckling my armor as I ran back out into the fray, I found the mercenaries clustered in front of the door leading below, fighting desperately to hold back the ravens' furious assault. The numbers were about even, but with the raised quarterdeck at their backs and the staircases leading up to it anchoring both flanks, the ravens' angles of attack were limited and the mercenaries had achieved something almost resembling a defensive formation. The front line of warriors was holding them back, but only barely, and the ranged fighters had their hands full just keeping the ravens from getting directly above us, even with Jill's aerial assistance. The first thing I noticed was Boyd, hard pressed by one laguz, nearly lose his head to a second that swooped in from the side. He ducked and killed the bird with an upward swing of his axe, but it cost him his position against his first opponent. Two steps brought me beside the creature, and I intercepted the peck it aimed at my friend, the point of my sword cutting deep into its head as the creature impaled itself. The sheer force of the raven falling dropped me on my rear, and my sword remained firmly stuck in its head. I was mesmerized for a second as I stared at the corpse, surprised to feel no guilt or remorse, but rather a vague sense of satisfaction. A boot nudged me, bringing me back to reality before I could think too much about it, and Boyd offered me a hand. He said something, but I couldn't hear him clearly so I just forced a cocky grin and took the offered hand as he pulled me back to my feet. Any further interaction was cut short as yet more ravens joined the fray, and we turned to face this new threat.

I knew not how long that battle lasted; It could have been hours, it could have been minutes. With only studded armor for protection, I stayed just behind the front lines, ready to lend a hand wherever someone ran into trouble or to pull wounded mercenaries and crew back to the healers. I fought beside Boyd for a time, but we got separated somehow and I found myself first fighting with a pair of crewmen, then with Nephenee, whom I was relieved to find alive. Still, it seemed no matter how many fell or retreated the birds just kept coming, a never-ending stream of enemies that replaced each dead or wounded bird with another, fresh and eager for blood. The line held for a time, the mercenaries' desperate efforts just keeping the beasts from breaking through, but fatigue began to take its toll and we all moved slower with each block or swing.

The break in our line happened fast as Brom missed a block and was bowled over by a pair of ravens. Crewmen in the second line tore into those ravens and Ilyana turned to assist, but more were coming in behind and others renewed the assault from above, and all the other mercenaries were too heavily engaged to do anything. In desperation I threw myself into the gap in the lines, warding off the leading beast with frantic strikes. It retreated for a second, but swooped right back in. Two crewmen, done killing the ravens on Brom, came in to back me up, but a second laguz joined the one in front of me, its talons shearing through the chest of the man to my right. The other crewman got swift vengeance as he buried a billhook in the beast's head while I attacked my enemy with renewed fury, anger giving me one last burst of energy. I took a talon to the gut, but as luck would have it I was already turning away and it glanced off my armor. Turning my hips with the swing like Zihark had taught me, my counterattack tore deep into the laguz' chest. It dropped in a heap and I lost my balance momentarily as my sword came free of its body, too tired to halt my own momentum. Another raven attacked from above, sensing weakness, but a javelin from Nephenee intercepted it mid-flight. She came over and helped plug the gap in our lines as Brom was pulled to the safety of the lower decks.

Their attack repelled for the moment, the laguz withdrew to regroup. Ike ordered the archers to hold fire, and everyone took advantage of the break to quickly treat their wounds. My exhaustion caught up with me, and I leaned heavily on my sword as I cast a worried look at our ragged group. Rolf, the mages, and the crew's archers were all still standing, but our melee lines were depleted; Nephenee stood just a few feet away rubbing a slave into one of her wounds, and it looked like all the original Greil Mercenaries were still standing as well, but Marcia, Keiran, Brom, Mia and Lethe had all been taken below. Worse yet, when I looked at what the ravens were doing I realized where they got their endless supply of warriors. Wounded ravens were reverting to their human forms and quaffing elixirs similar to the one Zihark had used to save Ilyana back in Port Toha, healing their wounds so they could return to the battle. I frowned; _How can simple pirates be so well outfitted?_

"Hey, ye're bleedin'," Nephenee said, interrupting my musings. She held out a pouch filled with the salve she'd been using, and pointed to my abdomen. I looked down, and realized that the last hit I'd taken had not been deflected by my armor after all, and warm blood was soaking through the leather. I took the vulnerary and mumbled my thanks. The salve stung like hell when I rubbed it in the wound, but the bleeding slowed almost immediately and the sting was replaced by a cool, numb sensation. I rubbed a bit into my shoulder as well, not wanting my sword arm to be overly encumbered. I passed the salve back to Neph, offering a quick smile of gratitude as she returned it to her belt. Our attention was drawn forward as the ravens began massing for another attack, and Ike began calling out orders and organizing the defense. Archers nocked arrows, mages readied spells, and infantry prepared to receive the enemy's charge. Jill took off again, hovering above to protect the mages and archers.

"Mercenaries, we must hold the deck! If we retreat below, these crows will be free to cripple the ship and leave us stranded, and we cannot let that happen! Hold ranks, watch out for the man next to you, and we _will _drive them back!" Ike yelled as he took his place in the center of the line. That line straightened, and if Ike had any doubts about winning he did not let them show.

"Here they come," Neph said anxiously, her eyes fixed ahead as she gripped her spear tightly. The ravens were staying low to avoid Jill and her devastating wyvern, which meant it would be us, the clear weak point in the infantry line, that would be the focus of their assault.

"Good luck," I replied as I raised my sword in a high guard.

"And Goddess protect us," the crewman next to me added.

A shriek from the laguz leader signaled the charge, and as one the ravens surged forward. Despite Ike's encouragement, our line collectively shrank back before the sheer momentum of that charge. They were halfway to our lines when a massive roar split the air, freezing even the ravens in their tracks. A few moments of silence followed as everyone looked about, worried that this heralded the approach of some new enemy. There was a second roar, louder this time, and an instant later massive forms came out of the mist. Three, no four- make that five enormous dragons - DRAGONS - came flying in, three red beast interposing themselves between the corsairs and us, while a fourth moved in to attack. The ravens scattered instantly, and two dragons went off in swift pursuit. The remaining three landed on the deck and faced us, their sheer power and majesty mocking our ragged, pitiful defenses. Everyone gripped their weapons tighter and retreated as far back as they could, and the man next to me whispered a frantic prayer for safety. Even knowing that dragons were helpful in the game, I had my doubts about their intentions too as I watched the imposing spectacle before me. These guys made Jill's wyvern look like a little kitten in comparison.

"Steady," Titania said calmly, just loud enough that everyone could hear. "If they wanted to kill us, we'd be dead already."

"Everyone lower your weapons, and don't make any sudden moves," Ike added just as quietly.

The dragons' leader, a great black dragon that dwarfed even his massive companions, stept forward. A couple of the crew raised their weapons instinctively, but a look from Ike was enough to make them get back in line. He walked towards the leader, and the two stood there for a moment, as though sizing each other up. The silence was broken by the cracking of bone as the leader's frame contorted and shrank until the great dragon was replaced by a richly dressed young man. On that signal his companions followed suit, reverting to their human forms and moving to flank their lord.

"Well met, travelers. I am prince Kurthnaga, of Goldoa," the young man said, his posture and expression conveying genuine warmth. As one the mercenaries around me relaxed, and several began to help the crew with repairs or went below to assist with the wounded. Soren and Nasir both seemed particularly eager to get below. I stayed put and leaned a little closer, pretending to nurse my own wound as I listened in on the commander's conversation.

"A prince? Good, we could use some help," Ike replied curtly. Titania coughed, and Ike cringed a bit before starting over, more politely this time. "I am Ike, a mercenary in the service of princess Elincia of Crimea. We appreciate your help, those corsairs were giving us rough time."

The prince seemed a little taken aback by Ike's gruff greeting, but recovered quickly and offered a diplomatic smile. "You are a long way from home then, Ike. And you are most welcome for the assistance, though it was a coincidence that we found you, I am afraid. I was touring the coastal villages when one of the village elders sensed powerful emanations of elder magic here. Naturally, such an anomaly in Goldoan waters must be investigated, so I lead a patrol. I certainly did not expect to find a battle at the center of this summoned fog." He looked very unsettled as he considered the raven corpses strewn about. "Kilvas has been growing bold, but to use the ancient summoning arts... I did not know there were any alive who practiced such dark rituals. I assure you, I shall lodge a formal complaint with King Naesala once I return home. In the meantime, though, the least I could do is guide your ship safely out of here." He gestured to his soldiers, and one shifted back to a dragon while the other began tying him to the prow of the ship.

I heard no more of their exchange, as Titania noticed me sitting idle and started to head in my direction. I took the hint, and went below deck as fast as I could to see if they needed any help. There, amidst bustling healers and crew I had the misfortune to run into Soren. I tried to move on, but he grabbed my arm.

"Hey, you! What's happening up on deck?" he demanded when he saw me.

"I'm busy tryin' to help out down here. Why don't you just go up yourself?" I snapped. _Of all the people I could run into..._

Soren held up a healing staff in response. "Because I'm _actually _helping," he replied. "Besides, too many sub-humans up there for my tastes."

"You're an ass, you know that? Whatever, I didn't hear much, but it looks like they're planning to tow us out of this fog." Just as I finished saying that, the deck lurched under me as the ship started to move. There were a few subdued cheers from the crew, but most people did not feel like celebrating just yet. I was about to leave, but remembered the other part. "Oh yeah, and apparently the fog is something to do with elder magic and summoning, or something like that. Figured you'd need to know that, snce you're kinda the magical expert around here."

"Say what?" Soren asked, his expression a mixture of surprise and dread.

"Elder magic? I dunno, the prince guy said that's what it was..."

"But those arts are- to summon that- ... a blood ritual. But how could sub-humans...?" Soren mused, his half complete thoughts serving only to further puzzle me. "Are you sure of this?" he asked, as if suddenly remembering that I was still there.

"Hey, I'm just relaying information. But what was that bit about blood rituals? I mean, that can't be good-" _Shit, is this blood magic? What the hell, that wasn't in the game!_

"You wouldn't understand. I need to look into this, so don't waste my time with pointless question," he interrupted rudely. Without another word, he was gone. _Dick._ I stood there, puzzled and a little pissed, until shouts for fresh bandages reminded me why I was down there in the first place. I ran off to the cargo hold to get more supplies, and pushed thoughts of blood magic to the back of my mind. _Leave magic to the mages..._

* * *

After the better part of an hour, the dragons finally towed the ship out of the fog. I got another look at them once the worst of the wounded had been treated and my own cuts were bandaged, and it was a glorious sight; Red beast pulling our ship through the dense fog, scales shimmering with reflected torchlight while half-seen cliffs loomed in the background. I hoped I would never encounter these laguz under unfriendly circumstances. Once we were out, the anchor was dropped again at the Goldoan prince's request; He wanted to replenish our supplies, free of charge. I heard him say something to Princess Elincia about fostering good relations with other countries for when it came time for him to succeed his father. While he was gone, a brief but solemn ceremony was held for the dead; The bosun and six other crewmen had lost their lives, and another three were missing and presumed dead. The seven corpses were swaddled in cloth, weighted, and committed to the deeps. Rhys led those present in a brief prayer, and just like that it was over. The crew returned to cleaning the bloody deck and checking the sails and rigging for damage. The dead ravens were dumped off the side as well, but that was more out of necessity than any respect for their dead. Jill, despite her Daein heritage, was cautiously welcomed into the company thanks to her heroic efforts in the battle. She did not seem to like the arrangement, but her wyvern's wing was injured in the battle so she had little choice in the matter. Goldoan soldiers returned with supplies not long after the funeral, but would not stay. The prince made no appearance, but sent his regards and a few bags of gold to add to the company coffers. With heavy hearts we set off once again for Begnion, and I was left with more than a few troubling questions. Chief among these questions was one that had plagued me for some time, and the unpredictable events of that day brought it to the forefront of my thoughts; _What if I _don't _know how this war is going to play out?_

Author's Note

I am sorry for my tardiness with this chapter. Writer's block was giving me some major trouble, but I've been occupied with other things in life as well. I am devoting a lot of my time to the study and practice of martial arts, I got promoted at work, and as always I've been playing video games. Hopefully, the next chapter won't take me three months, especially now that exams are done. Now to reply to reviews...

ExposedWiresExposedVeins - Thank you again for the feedback. You raise some good points that I have taken into consideration, and I just thought I would explain my reasoning for the OC fighting with the mercenaries. I agree that under normal circumstances, even in medieval society, throwing an untrained dude into battle would not be ideal. That being said, at the time the OC joined the mercenaries they were in pretty desperate straits in terms of manpower. It got to the point that they allowed Mist and Rolf to fight (who as far as they knew had less training than the OC, but were admittedly not fighting hand to hand), so I figured that in that situation it was not too much of a stretch for the OC to join the battle as well. I know he was a little too good at fighting in chapters 5 and 6, but the idea was that he was lucky and facing equally unskilled opponents.

Thank you all for the advice, reviews, favs and follows. I appreciate the support, and I really do feel bad about my long inactivity. Please feel free to leave a review, good or bad, and again please submit OCs via PM so as not to cause clutter in the reviews section. Thanks, and seeya next time.


	13. Chapter 13

Fire Emblem: Valiant Dawn

Author's Note

And the OC chosen to appear in this story is (drumroll please)... revealed later in the chapter. What, you thought I'd spoil it right away? HA!

Replies to reviews and such will be in the A/N at the end of the chapter.

Disclaimer: I own nothing but my OC. The other OC belongs to someone else. I'm still not telling.

Chapter 13

Revelations part II

The axe rose and fell in rapid succession, raining powerful blows on my shield and driving me back on my heels. Its wielder snarled, sensing victory, and swung again. This time I angled my shield and sidestepped, swiping my weapon at my opponents back as he stumbled past. I hit nothing but air as my adversary, no stranger to the flow of battle, realized his mistake and turned his momentum into a shoulder roll. He spun about as he came to his feet, and we faced each other with a little more caution. I pointed the tip of my blade at him over the top of my shield, and he brought the axe up in a high guard. We circled warily, waiting for someone to make the first move.

"C'mon, get'im!" came a shout from the gathered crowd, not at all pleased to see us at a temporary standoff. I grinned, happy just to have come up dead even for once against this guy.

"Yeah, c'mon! What're you afraid of?" I taunted, banging the blunt sword against my round shield and motioning him forward. I stopped circling, keeping the sun behind me so it wouldn't get in my eyes.

"Lose the shield, it's a wimpy tool for wimps!" Boyd, eloquent as ever, shot back. I just laughed at him, and watched in joy as his face turned red with anger. "HYAAA!" he yelled as he launched himself forward again. The crowd around us roared its approval as I rushed to meet him, and the fight began anew.

It was day and a half after that brutal battle against the corsairs. The ship was once again underway, but only at half sail to give everyone some time to rest and recover. Boyd, always eager for some downtime, had tried to enlist my help in dodging Titania and the practice swings she was no doubt eager to make him do, but I just laughed and poked fun at his laziness. Annoyed by my comments, he challenged me to a sparring match which, in retrospect, was the exact opposite of what he wanted to do in the first place, but well- that's Boyd. I accepted eagerly, as we hadn't fought since leaving Gallia and I was pretty keen to try my new skills against him. Unfortunately, we were in the middle of the deck at a time when the crew didn't have a lot to do; A crowd formed around us as soon as weapons were drawn, and before long men were calling out bets and exchanging bags of gold. By now, the fight had been going on for at least half an hour, the pot had grown to almost a thousand gold, and neither one of us had been able to land any decisive hits.

Our weapons met in a fierce clash, and I slammed my shield into his ribs to drive him back and force him to disengage before he could use his brute strength to push me off-balance. Advantage gained, I waded in after his retreat, sliding out of his center and hitting him from an angle. Surprised and off-balance, he countered with awkward blocks and parries as I drove him backwards. I began to think for a moment that I could actually win this fight; Boyd was good, but I had been training with Zihark for a long time now, and next to his speed and precision Boyd was practically moving in slow motion.

A moment later, however, I was reminded why Boyd always beat me in practice fights as he finally got in a solid counter. I mostly blocked the blow with my shield, but he hooked his axe on the edge and used that to yank the shield off my arm and send it flying to the side. He followed the disarm with a nasty kick to the midsection, and suddenly it was me stumbling backwards and awkwardly batting away attacks.

Still, Boyd was tiring fast, and I ducked one clumsy blow and made a run for my lost shield, scoring a quick but weak hit on his calf as I passed. I scooped up my shield and spun to meet Boyd's pursuit, and not a moment too soon. He launched himself through the air, all of his weight behind that axe and aimed right at my chest. I blocked, but even so the sheer force buckled one knee. I pivoted away from it as much as my awkward pose allowed, but it twisted my buckled knee and the muscles cramped painfully. Putting my shoulder into the back of the shield, I tried to force him back, only to have him pivot away and send me stumbling past. I mimiked his shoulder roll from earlier, but it was much less graceful and I stumbled as I came to my feet again. Luckily he was too tired to pursue and once again we faced off across the deck. This time, though, there was an air of finality to it; Boyd's breath was coming in short puffs, and my leg was shaking with the effort of staying upright. One way or another, this fight was ending.

"He's weak, take'im down," a sailor shouted, seeing my knee trembling.

"Finish him!" another called out. Immediately people began yelling to encourage Boyd, while the men collecting bets began shouting new odds. I tried to ignore them, but they were clearly not in my favor. I glanced down to asses my leg, and willed it to hold me up just a little longer. A good stretching would stop the muscles from cramping and make it good as new, but Boyd wasn't about to give me time for that. He finally caught his breath and stalked towards me, getting into position for one last, duel-ending charge. His axe was held low, as though he were going to go under my shield to take out my weak leg.

A lesson from Zihark, one reinforced by many, _many_ stinging bruises, ran through my head; _When your enemy tires, he will try to finish the fight by putting all of his strength into one last attack. Be wary, because it will not come from the direction you expect. Watch his stance, and you will see._ Instead of looking at his axe, I took a second to look his posture as Zihark had taught me, and immediately saw that the set of his shoulders and feet were all wrong. It looked like the attack would come in high and from the side, above the low block he was baiting and straight into my neck. A grin spread across my face; _I might have this fight after all._

"YAAAHHHH!" Boyd yelled as he charged in, axe still low. I obliged him and dropped my shield low to protect my legs, offering the only counter I had to the attack. As I'd suspected, he brought the axe up prematurely and redirected the momentum into a side strike. I had absolutely no way of blocking, so I didn't even try to. Instead I just let my weak leg collapse under me and dropped to one knee. I rotated my hips as Boyd's axe cut through empty air above me and slammed the edge of my shield into the back of his leading knee, then straightened my good leg and stood, reversing the momentum of my shield to smash it into his chest and right arm. To his credit, he somehow kept his feet under him and landed on both knees instead of his rear, but before he could recover I had the tip of my sword pressed against his neck while my shield remained firmly planted between his weapon and my body.

"Yield," I said breathlessly, hardly believing my luck. Boyd nodded and dropped his axe, admitting defeat.

A chorus of groans came from those who'd bet on him to win, while winners began collecting their bags of coin. I took a few seconds to stretch out the tensed muscles in my leg before I helped Boyd up. Rolf was laughing hysterically as I pulled his older brother to his feet, and Oscar came over to congratulate us both on a duel well fought. I shook the offered hand, then made my way over to where Zihark was collecting a small bag of coins from the ship's cook to see what he'd thought of the fight.

"You bet on me?" I asked him, surprised and a little flattered.

"I'm not going to bet against someone I trained," Zihark explained. "And besides, betting against Boyd was a pretty safe wager."

"So you're saying my training has already made me better than Boyd?" I asked, hoping to get a rare compliment out of my mentor. He'd long ago explained that he only gave praise when someone really excelled, but I was hopeful.

"Don't kid yourself, Boyd has used seasickness to get out of training for this entire voyage. He was slow, rusty and overconfident, and yet it was a very close fight; You've still got a long way to go before you're as good as any of the mercenaries," Zihark explained matter-of-factly. "That being said, it is nice to see that you've taken _some _of my lessons to heart," he allowed. It wasn't quite a compliment, but it was good enough for me.

"So, more training today?" I asked eagerly. I had come to enjoy training since Zihark had agreed to teach me, especially after Titania recommended I use a shield to offset my defensive weakness. Shields were just so much fun.

"Not just yet. You need to rest that leg for a bit, or you could injure yourself," Zihark said, indicating my cramping leg. "And besides, I was going to spend the afternoon with Ilyana."

Any smart remarks on my part about him and Ilyana were cut short as the first mate came over and handed me my share of the winnings. I did a quick count, shielding my eyes from sunlight reflecting off the waves, and whistled appreciatively; There was about a hundred gold in the pouch, give or take. Not too bad. I was just about to turn back to Zihark when we heard surprised shouting from the portside rail.

"There's someone in the water!" Nephenee was screaming, pointing frantically down at the water.

"MAN OVERBOARD!" the first mate yelled, and began directing men to throw ropes to the unfortunate soul.

Once again, a crowd gathered as the person was hauled to safety, and I had to push and shove to get close enough to see who it was. When I finally got through the press of onlookers, I stopped dead in my tracks. It wasn't a member of the crew or the mercenaries who'd been in the water. Hell, it wasn't even someone I recognized, but there was something I did recognize; The clothes and backpack they wore were definitely not Tellian. Drenched and bedraggled though they were, they were unmistakably from Earth.

I was completely and utterly frozen, too shocked to move, talk or even think as Rhys directed Mordecai to carry the semiconscious form to a cabin while others ran to get warm blankets. By the time I snapped out of it, they were gone and someone was prodding my shoulder.

"Hey, what's wrong? Ye look like ye've seen a ghost..." Nephenee asked, her head cocked to the side in confusion.

"What did you see?" I blurted, hoping that, since she was the first one to notice that person, she might have seen something out of the ordinary. Anything to confirm my suspicion.

"I-I saw someone in the water-"

"No, before that! Did anything strange happen, something to make you look over there?" I demanded.

"Ummm, I dunno, there was just a flash like sun reflectin' off the waves near the hull, an' then all of a sudden there's somebody thrashin' an' screaming right where the flash was," she said, taken aback by my harsh tone. She hesitated, then added "This may sound weird, but I don't recall seein' anything in the water before that. It's like they just appeared outta nowhere."

_Holy shit, holy shit! There's someone else like me!_ "I gotta go, thanks Neph," I said breathlessly as I ran off in the direction they'd taken the person. _I have to talk to them._

"Wait, aren't ye gonna tell me what's..." Nephenee protested, but her voice trailed off as I got out of earshot.

I was pretty far behind Rhys and the new arrival, and had to stop and ask a few crewmen where they had gone. After barging into the wrong room twice, I finally found the right place. Unfortunately, Rhys was just leaving the room and blocked my way when he saw me approach.

"Rhys, is that person in there? Are they conscious?" I asked urgently.

"Yes, bu-"

"I need to speak with them! Now."

"No, not now. She's still recovering," he said calmly as he tried to steer me away from the door.

"Rhys, I need to talk to them before anyone else does," I replied urgently. Rhys didn't budge, so I stepped closer and lowered my voice. "This is important! I _am _going in there, one way or another." Now Rhys took a cautious step back.

"I am just looking out for her well-being. She's been through a lot, and I won't let you go in there and interrogate her," he said, holding both hands up defensively. I realized what I was doing, and backed off a bit. _Did I just threaten Rhys? Frak, I need to calm down!_

"That's exactly why I need to talk to her! Rhys, trust me; This is as much for her good as it is for mine," I said earnestly. He looked torn, so I added "I'll be nice, promise."

"...Fine, but only for a few minutes, and if she doesn't want to talk, don't press the issue." Rhys stepped aside. "I'll be right out here," he added as a not-so-subtle warning.

"Thank you, Rhys," I said as I opened the door. He grabbed my arm before I got all the way in.

"You wouldn't have actually forced your way in?" I couldn't tell if he meant it as a question or a statement.

"Of course not," I said with practiced sincerity. _But that doesn't mean I didn't consider it._ Before he could say anything else, I entered the room and closed the door firmly behind me. I heard a sharp intake of breath behind me. _Here goes_. I turned to see who this new, unfortunate abductee was.

I don't know what expected, but for some reason it wasn't what I saw. Before me sat a short, dark-haired girl, perhaps a year or two younger than myself. She was shivering under a dry blanket that concealed her distinctive attire, but her backpack was discarded near the door. I surreptitiously examined it as I took a few steps into the room. Yep, it was definitely from Earth. My first instinct was to unleash a barrage of questions on the poor girl, but then my first instinct in the hallway had been to shove Rhys aside, so my judgement was clearly not so great at the moment. _Be nice, Adam, _I reminded myself.

"Who are you?" she asked when I got to within a few steps of her.

"A friend. You can call me Adam. What's your name?" I was careful to keep my voice quiet and my tone under control, but I was practically bursting with anticipation. If this girl really was from Earth, then it would change everything.

"Where am I?" she asked, ignoring my question.

"A merchant vessel, off the coast of Goldoa," I answered, watching her reaction to the name closely. There was a small spark of recognition, then her brow furrowed in concentration as though she were trying to place the name.

"Goldoa... Why does that sound familiar? Where is this, Africa? Asia?" That confirmed it. Just like me, this girl was from Earth. Again, I barely contained my excitement.

"Tellius. You're in Tellius." There were a few seconds of silence as that sank in, then her eyes went wide.

"What?! No, that's impossible, Tellius isn't real," she exclaimed. _Oh good, she knows what Tellius is. That saves me a lot of awkward explanations._

"Well, we're both here, so it must be," I chuckled. _She probably thinks she's dreaming now. It's a logical assumption._

"Okay, this is all a dream then, no? That has to be it." _Called it! Booyah!_ The girl started tugging at her hair. "I know I'm not crazy, so none of us are really here. You, this ship, and all those people must just be a figments of my imagination. You're not real."

I laughed. "That so? Well then prove it; Wake yourself up," I challenged sarcastically.

"Well, I kinda want to stick around for a little while at least. I mean, I _am _in Tellius now, why should I be in any hurry to leave?"

"C'mon, just try it! Humor me," I requested again, suppressing another laugh at her expense. _Well, at least she isn't freaking out about alien abductions and scary trees, unlike a certain someone *cough*me*cough*._

"Man, for a fabrication of my subconscious you sure are pushy. Fine, but if I wake up and can't have another dream about Tellius, I blame you!" she said before closing her eyes and pinching herself hard on the cheek. Her face scrunched up a bit as she sat there, but nothing else happened.

"Still here," I said after a few seconds, prompting the girl to open her eyes again. Now she was looking a little shocked, eyes wide and staring off into space. _Well, so much for being nice._

"Gods! How is this-? I'm not- I-I can't be... No! Nononono! This is insane..." She returned her focus to me. "You're real, you're actually real! I'm not imagining this, am I?"

"Nope," I answered, pulling up a chair and taking a seat facing her. _Time for me to figure out exactly how she got here._ "Now, my turn to ask some questions. Let's start simple; Who are you?" Her mind was clearly busy with something else, so I had to repeat the question to get an answer. "Hey! What's your name?"

"Uh, I'm Al," she answered absently, tugging anxiously at her hair.

"Say again?" I had to do a double take when I heard the name. _Al can't be her real name, that's a guy's name._

"Oh, it's short for Alarice. I just prefer to be called Al," she said as she hastily regained her composure. Before I could ask any further questions she took a deep breath, then abruptly spewed out a story at lightning speed. "Look, sorry for all that crazy talk I just got hit really hard on the head 'cause y'see I was on a, uh, a merchant ship travelling back tooooo... to Begnion 'cause my family is all merchants but then we got attacked by pirates and it was so terrible and the ship sank and I don't really remember much else because I was hit really hard on the head - I already said that, no?- And maybe I also have memory loss as a coping mechanism because of all those horrible things I saw on the-"

"Bullshit," I interrupted. Still, the story had been pretty decent for something she came up with on the spot. Had I not already known what was going on, I might have bought it.

"No, really I-" she tried to protest, and I gestured for her to be quiet.

"Just gimme a second," I said sternly.

"But-"

"Zip it!"

"You're calling me a-"

"A liar, yes," I finished, not quite able to suppress a grin. Her expression turned angry and she started to stand up, so I held my hand up to deter any forthcoming outburst. "Hey, I'm trying to help you here, so just hear me out. I think I can explain all this."

"Fine. Jerk." I ignored that jab, and considered my next words carefully.

"Okay. Well, I know you're not from Begnion. I bet you've never even been there, or anywhere else on Tellius for that matter. Truth is, you're from a world known as Earth." Al's jaw dropped. "Judging by your accent, you're a North American like myself, and you're probably a gamer because you seem to know a bit about Tellius. As for how you got here, there was an... unusual event, and you were inexplicably transported into a world that was supposed to be just a video game. Am I close?"

"Holy shit, so you-"

"Got teleported here, just like you," I explained. She looked shocked right now, so I explained everything I knew; Daein's magical experiments, the attempted abduction of Elincia, and the fact that the chances of finding a way back to Earth were slim at best. In turn, she told me her story. It would seem that like me, she was from Canada, and she'd been trapped and brought here by Daein's warp magic and shine barrier combination while she was out taking a stroll. More importantly, on Earth it was about three months after my disappearance, which meant that the magic was somewhat more consistent than Rhys and Soren had predicted. I didn't know much about magic, but I suspected that this meant I could potentially return home, provided I got access to that magic. I kept that suspicion to myself, though; I didn't want to get her hopes up when all I had was a hunch.

"So let me get this straight; I got warped into what I _thought _was a fictional world just because I was in the wrong place at the wrong time, and now I'm on the same ship as a bunch of video game characters?"

"Pretty much." I was surprised by how well she was taking this.

"This sounds like a bad fanfic," Al chuckled to herself. _Seriously?! People actually write stories about that? _I thought._ That sounds stupid- Wait, what am I thinking?! Ugh!_ "But this is so awesome! I can meet Ike and Rolf and Mist and Oscar and all the other characters. right? It's gonna so cool!"

"Yeah, and I'm sure commander Ike will let you stay with us for a while," I agreed. _Man, she is taking this news really well._

"...So I get to be a member of the Greil Mercenaries? For real?" she asked, her face lighting up with excitement. _Shit, that's not exactly what I meant. I don't have the authority to make a promise like that._

Before I could correct my mistake, there was a heavy knock on the door. I excused myself and answered it. Ike and Soren stood on the other side, looking quite serious.

"Adam, what are you doing in here?" Ike asked. Soren glared suspiciously at Al.

"Rhys let me in, sir. I needed to speak with her," I explained.

"We just pulled her out of the water, and we don't know who she is. She could be a Daein agent for all we know!" Soren chastised me.

"I'll vouch for her. She's from the same place I am," I explained. Before I could say anything more, Al rushed over and extended her hand for Ike to shake.

"Hi Ike. I'm Alarice," she introduced herself with a deliberate air of nonchalance.

"Umm, yes hello, I am Ike of the Greil Mercenaries," Ike said as he shook her hand. "Nice to meet you." He turned back to me. "Care to elaborate?"

"Oh, I'm from the same world as him. I was out taking a walk when I saw this ring of light on the ground, and next thing I know I get dropped in the ocean. Thanks for taking me aboard, that water was cold. Obviously, I don't really have anywhere else to go at the moment, so is it alright if I stay for a while?" Al asked

Ike considered her for a moment before he spoke again. "Well Adam already vouched for you. What do you think, Soren?"

"Well, we don't lack for provisions, so she won't be a burden. As long we can confirm her story and you feel we can trust her, Ike, then I see no problem with her being aboard," Soren said, being unexpectedly nice. He was still Soren, though, so he added "But if she causes any trouble, we should absolutely throw her back overboard. She's small, so it shouldn't prove difficult."

"Why you-" Al snapped angrily as she took a step towards him. Much as Soren deserved a good smack, I quickly blocked her with my arm to keep her from attacking the little twerp. She settled for a menacing glare instead. "I'm not small," she growled.

"He's like that with everyone, just ignore him," I advised her quietly. _Man, he must have hit a nerve. _I turned to speak with Ike. "So, she can stay?"

"Yes, as long as she keeps her temper under control," Ike said bluntly. "And Soren, stop provoking her," he added.

"So, I'm a Greil Mercenary now?" Al asked, suddenly happy and excited again.

"Not yet, but we can train you if you want to join us. I'll warn you, it's dangerous work," Ike replied.

"Yes, absolutely! I would love for you guys to train me!" she exclaimed. Her celebration was cut short, though, as Rhys, who had stood outside the door during the conversation, came in.

"Not right now. Miss Alarice needs to dry off and rest before she gets sick," Rhys said as he entered the room. "I'm sorry, but you will have to continue this conversation later." He wasted not time ushering Ike, Soren and I out. Once we got outside, Ike's expression turned grim.

"Are you sure about Alarice?" he asked me as soon as the door closed firmly behind us.

"Completely, sir. She knows too much about Earth to be an imposter," I replied. Ike nodded as if that was the answer he had expected.

"Then Daein has tried to kidnap Elincia again," he reasoned.

"The princess is safe, right?" Soren asked urgently. "We can't afford to lose her."

"She's fine, I was just with her. They missed, but only by a little this time," Ike reassured him.

"How could they know where we are? It's not like they can track us..." I asked, baffled. Ike was right, they did come awfully close with that one, and as far as we knew it was only the second time they'd tried it.

"Daein can't, but the ravens of Kilvas have been. If those corsairs were working for Daein, then it would explain a lot. Adam, you told me some Daeins are likely pursuing us in a ship, correct?" Ike asked. I nodded. "Then that explains how they found out about us so soon after the battle. The ship must be only a day or two behind us, it's the only way they could have gotten news so fast."

"Of course! This explains everything!" Soren exclaimed. Ike and I turned to him, confused, and a few crewmen turned quizzical glances our way in response to the outburst. Soren lowered his voice and elaborated. "It's only logical; Laguz lack the ability to use magic, so it had to be a human that summoned the fog when the corsairs attacked. If the Daein ship is only a day or two behind us, that mage would be able to summon the fog ahead of our course, setting us up to be disabled and set adrift by the ravens' attack. It would have just been a matter of catching up and capturing the princess. Once news reached them of the attack's failure, they then tried a more experimental approach, namely the warp and shine barrier combination."

"Wait a sec, you said that magic was too unpredictable, and yet it's now snagged two people from the same world and same approximate time. That sounds pretty consistent to me," I reasoned. "How is that possible?"

"It has to be related to elder magic, the summoning arts they used to create that fog," Soren said. He didn't even try to be rude or talk down to me. Instead, he had the earnest focus of a scholar making an important discovery. He seemed almost thrilled. "That art has been dead for centuries, what with the church's ban on blood magic and dark practices, but if those researchers have rediscovered it, who knows what they could have learned! That explains how they joined the shine barrier with warp magic; The result is evidently still transdimensional, but they must have found a way to stabilize it and prevent any catastrophic consequences. However they did it, Daein magical research must have uncovered at least some of that ancient power."

"So, what you're saying is that Daein has unwittingly created, for a few seconds, _stable_ portals between this world and mine, and that one of the people capable of opening said portals is quite possibly on that Daein ship, orchestrating these attacks?" I asked, just to clarify. _Yes! This could be it! I know we're going to have to fight that ship, so if I capture that Daein mage, I can make him send me home!_

"It's a likely explanation," Soren agreed.

"Alright. Soren, come with me, we need to tell Titania and the princess what's happened. Adam, take a message to Nasir. Tell him we are being pursued and to put us under full sail. We have a small lead on them now, but I don't want any chance of them catching up before we get to Begnion," Ike ordered.

"Yessir," I said before jogging away to find the ship's captain.

Several minutes later, I found myself standing in what remained of the crow's nest. The ship was once again under full sail, and a nice wind was carrying us along at a good clip. Since there wasn't much for me to do after speaking with Nasir, I took the opportunity to come up here and sort through my emotions. It was nice to finally have some answers, and I was elated to have a shot at getting home, but also troubled by something I hadn't really considered before; Suddenly I wasn't sure if I _wanted _to leave anymore.

"Thought I'd find ye up here," Neph's voice came from behind me as she clambered into the crow's nest, stirring me from my thoughts.

"Oh, hey Neph," I greeted absently. "What's up?"

"What's goin' on with ye? First that girl appeared outta nowhere, an' then ye started actin' all strange an' rushed off. Ye wouldn't even talk ta me," she asked once she was fully inside the crow's nest. Her sharp tone really got my attention; She'd always been soft-spoken.

I silently berated myself for ignoring Neph earlier. Worse yet, I still hadn't come clean about my past. And sure she wasn't the only person who didn't know, but after the first talk in the crow's nest we had grown to be pretty good friends and even confidants. We swapped stories from home, sparred occasionally, and sometimes just hung out and talked. She'd even helped me deal with the worst of my nightmares. For some reason, though, I never wanted to tell her about my past, or about the fact that I was determined to leave Tellius. I definitely owed her an explanation. "I'm sorry, Neph, I didn't mean to ignore you. I should have told you what was going on."

"Ye can tell me now," she said. To my surprise I heard almost no anger in her voice, just genuine concern.

"Umm, look, there's more than just that. Before, I wasn't entirely honest about who I am and where I'm from," I admitted. "I-I never lied to you," I added quickly. It sounded like an empty excuse, even to me. "But I didn't tell the whole truth either, and I'm sorry." I felt like a terrible person.

"I know," she said. I was speechless. "Rhys telled me a while back. It's okay, we all have our secrets. An' besides, ye only left out the parts that made ye sound like a crazy person," she added with a chuckle.

"Oh, that's a relief. Thanks for understanding," I said, feeling much better.

"So, ye gonna tell me what's botherin' ya?" Neph asked, leaning a little closer in anticipation.

"That girl in the water was brought here the same way as me, from the same world. The time even matches up; I've been here three months, and back home three months have passed since I left. I think it means those portal things might be stable enough for me to go home," I explained.

"That's great news!" she exclaimed, beaming.

"Yeah, it's great," I echoed with less enthusiasm. "But..." My voice got a little choked, and I had to stop to compose myself. Neph's smile was replaced with a look of concern.

"But what?" she asked softly as I tried to find a way to articulate my fears.

"But what if it's a one-way trip? What if I can't get back here again? I mean, this is exactly what I've wanted to hear since I got to Tellius, but now... I have Boyd, Ilyana, Zihark, you. If I can't make it back, I lose contact with a lot of people I care about." I sighed in frustration. "I don't know what I'm gonna do."

Neph reached over and put a comforting hand on my shoulder. "Ye should go, it's what ye've wanted."

"Well regardless, I won't be leaving anytime soon; I'm fighting this war with you guys now, and I intend to see it through 'til the end," I said. _That's it, Adam, procrastinate. You're good at that._

Neph spent a few seconds staring out across the water, then finally spoke again. "Well I can't help much with yer choice, but if ye're goin' after them mages ye'll need help. Count me in."

"You don't have to do that. I mean, it's my fight, and I don't want you getting killed on my acc-"

"Look, ye're me friend, an' I'm not lettin' ye do it alone. It's the least I can do, an' I'll hear no argument," Neph said firmly. She cracked a small smile. "Besides, maybe those mages'll know of a way for ye ta go back an' forth."

I smiled back and squeezed her hand, grateful for her optimism. "Thanks Neph." Still, I felt a cold knot of fear form in my gut; _How am I ever gonna choose?_

A/N

So, I would like to take a moment to say that choosing an OC for this chapter was not easy. Not easy at all. You guys sent in some awesome characters, and sadly there was no way I could ever use them all :( That being said, even though I said I would only use one, well let's just say I've made room for at least one (possibly three) more of them to appear down the road. As for the character I chose for this chapter, it came down to a coin toss. The winner (tails, if you must know) was Archsage12's character Alarice. I hope my protrayal of her was okay.

Okay, time to answer questions from reviews/PMs.

Nekuromansa000 - 1. The church in this is indeed modeled on the medieval christian church. Given that it is a monotheistic religion, with an organizational structure similar to christianity (priests, bishops, archbishops etc.) and the fact that much of the game's society seems to be based on feudal systems, I thought it was a better fit that germanic or gallic paganism.

2. I had no idea the heron language was backwards japanese, but that is very interesting to know. As for whether or not I will write it that way... well, my forwards japanese is not very good, so that language will probably just be arcane-sounding gibberish to Adam.

3. For simplicity's sake, I'm just gonna say it's english. Lazy, I know. Also, I've never seen or read Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy. I should probably go do that.

Archsage12 - Of course. I don't forget people.

So yeah, please leave a review and let me know how I did. It always makes my day when I see feedback. Seeya next time!


	14. Chapter 14

Disclaimer: I own nothing but my OC.

Chapter 14

So Close...

On the twentieth day of our third month at sea, we finally came within sight of Sienne. Contrary to what the game maps showed, Begnion's capital was a colossal port city that stretched far inland and made Port Toha look like a little fishing village. Even though we were miles away from the harbour, I could see dozens of sails and masts on the water ahead, and yet more ships could be seen to the south. More importantly, though, was the skyline behind the ships and the harbour; At long last, after months at sea, we had returned to civilization. We were behind schedule, but everyone just seemed happy to have land, shelter and warm beds to look forward to. Even now a Begnion emissary was aboard with an escort of pegasus knights, speaking with Ike and Elincia about arranging a meeting with the Empress.

Our ship ran into a storm several days after Al's unexpected arrival. No one was lost, but we all spent two miserable, terrifying nights locked away in our cabins. Everything that moved had to be secured, and most of us were too seasick to eat anything because of the massive swells throwing our ship around like a child's toy. When the second day dawned, we emerged onto the deck to find ourselves miles off course, with damaged rigging, torn sails, and several leaks in the hull. We worried that our Daein pursuers would catch us while we made repairs, but as luck would have it we never saw so much as a sail on the horizon or a raven in the sky. They had either been destroyed by the storm, or bypassed it and missed us completely. Either way, we were underway in just over a day, and made it here with no further incident.

"Oh man, I can't wait to get ashore!" Boyd exclaimed as we stood at the rail. "Warm beds and beautiful chambermaids await, my friend!"

"Don't forget fresh food," Ilyana was quick to add. Her stomach rumbled noisily. "Mmmm, I wonder what the local cuisine is like..."

"Better than stale bread, I can guarantee that!" I quipped. "Oh, and I am _not _buying this time. I don't care who, but it's definitely somebody else's turn."

"We'll see..." Boyd replied, mock-pouting. "Just remember, you're the one who made a bunch of gold off our fight; It wouldn't hurt to be generous to your less fortunate friends."

"It wasn't that much, and I'm trying to save up. It'd be nice to have some armor that wasn't second-hand, or at the very least fits me properly." My leather armor had seen me through some tough spots, no doubt, but it pinched in places and some of the iron studs were falling out. It was time for an upgrade. I wasn't sure to what, but I was hoping to find a decent coat of light mail.

"Hey guys! You ready for the battle?" Al called as she trotted over to join us. She was sweating pretty heavily and had a fresh bruise on her arm; Titania must have had her training really hard today.

"Al, there's not going to _be _a battle. Look around, we're basically in friendly waters now, and there are ships everywhere. No one would be stupid enough to attack us now," I replied.

"Yeah, but-"

"What we thought we knew about Tellius has proven to be a little unreliable. We lost the Daeins and their ravens, and as far as I can tell we're home free. We've got nothing to worry about," I insisted.

"Well, I'm ready for a fight," Al said. Indeed, she had her spear strapped to her back, and she was wearing some light armor. The long spear looked kind of comical next to her small figure, but I kept that thought to myself. I'd learned very quickly that saying such things around Al was a terrible idea.

"_If _there is a fight, Al, you'd be staying back with Mist and Rhys," Boyd was quick to point out. "You've only been training for about a month."

"Yeah, and from what I hear so have you, Boyd. Are you staying back?" Al shot back right away. She was right; Boyd obsessed over his training after our duel, but before that he hadn't done so much as a practice swing in months.

"Uh, n-no I won't be, I'll be fighting," Boyd answered uncertainly.

"But then that means I can fight too. I mean let's face it, you must have been pretty pathetic for Adam to beat you," Al reasoned, a cocky grin spreading across her face.

"I'm right here, guys. Really?" I mumbled. I'm not a pathetic fighter...

"Well, yeah, but see I'm better now 'cause I've been training," Boyd said defensively, not realizing that he'd just backed himself into a corner. Al's grin widened.

"So by your logic, I could conceivably have gone from a pathetic fighter to a battle-ready one within a month," she said.

"N-no, I mean, uh..." Boyd was at a loss for words. Finally he just blurted "Ugh! Logic's stupid!"

Al pumped her fist in the air victoriously. "Ha! I win!" she declared.

"Yeah? Well... you're short!" Boyd shot back, not at all happy about being outsmarted.

"Look, this argument is pointless," I said in an attempt to keep things from getting out of hand. Al got really angry when people made jokes about her height, which only encouraged Boyd. "No one is going to attack us, and unless you two girls get into a catfight there's not gonna be a battle."

"Actually, I wouldn't be so sure..." Ilyana, who'd been quiet from the entire conversation, spoke up. She pointed to a trio of ships nearby. One, a large Firefly-Class ship like ours flying the Begnion flag, was being followed closely by two smaller ships. The pursuing ships flew no colours, and were approaching from the stern with one on either side of their target. From our vantage point, we were close enough to see the outline of several ballistae on the two ships. "Is it just me, or are those two ships getting into position to attack?"

"Holy shit-" I breathed. An instant later, four balista bolts arced out from the pursuing ships, trailing chains. They tore into the sails of the Begnion ship and tangled her rigging, and the ship slowed down immediately. One of the attacking ships passed right by the crippled galleon, archers raking her deck as they went by, then sailed on ahead to deter any other ships from coming to the vessel's aid. The second enemy ship went right up alongside, and seconds later screams and clashing weapons could be heard across the water.

"Damn, that happened fast," Boyd gasped.

I looked around the deck, and saw that pretty much everyone was transfixed on the battle unfolding just a few hundred yards or so to port. On the quarterdeck, the Begnion emissary and her retinue had taken off and were making a beeline for the beleaguered ship, leaving Ike, Elincia, Soren and Nasir engaged in a brief but tense conversation. After a few urgent pleas from Elincia, Nasir moved to the front of the quarterdeck and bellowed to the assembled crew.

"Stop starring, lads, and get this ship moving. Let's even the odds!" The crew, disciplined and with no love of pirates, went straight to work and put our ship into a hard turn to port. Ike and Titania began gathering the mercenaries. Our group moved to join them.

"Okay okay, you were right," I conceded when Al gave me an 'I-told-you-so' look as we all gathered near the mainmast. Any further conversation was, thankfully, cut short as Ike began to explain the battle plan.

"We have reason to believe that the Apostle, or at least an important noble, is on that ship. Naturally, our main priority is to make sure they're safe, so we'll board the Begnion ship and help them secure the deck first. Once that's done, we'll take the enemy vessel. Any questions? No? Then let's go!"

As soon as Ike finished, Titania began organizing the boarding party. There was no time to so much as wish anyone good luck or tell them to be careful as we all readied grapples and ramps. Boyd, Mia, Oscar and I were assigned to one of the boarding ramps, and Al, who had not been assigned a group, followed us closely. Titania caught her, though, and wasted no time assigning her to guard Elincia. She complied, but only reluctantly. Ahead, the emissary and her knights had joined forces with a squadron of pegasus knights from shore who'd gotten past the second enemy ship. Together they made a beeline for the battle, ignoring the arrows fired at them from both enemy ships.

"Here comes the Holy Guard! This must be the Apostle's ship!" Titania exclaimed when she saw them. Her elation was short-lived, however. Before they could get close enough to help their allies, a new enemy joined the fray; Crows from Kilvas, previously cruising at a higher altitude, dove straight down to intercept the Holy Guard, keeping the sun directly behind them as they attacked. The pegasus knights never saw them coming, and their precise formation dissolved into a frantic dogfight as horses and riders alike were sent tumbling down to the water. I winced at the sight.

"Looks like we're on our own," Oscar observed grimly. Once the surprise wore off the remaining knights quickly gained the upper hand, and better still they were keeping those damned crows out of the battle. There was nothing that could be done to help them, so I loosened my sword in its sheath and prepared myself for the fight to come as our ship got close enough to board. Oscar moved our ramp into place, and everyone began throwing grapples and pulling us closer. I had to make a few attempts, but I finally got my grapple hooked on the other ship's rail.

"Good luck," I said quietly to Boyd as we hauled on the ropes.

"You too. You'll need it," he replied. "Last one to the pirate ship's deck is buying drinks after this?"

"You're on," I agreed. I'd probably lose, but I knew the bet was just Boyd's way of saying 'don't get killed.'

"RAMPS DOWN! GIVE'EM HELL BOYS!" the first mate bellowed. Oscar dropped his ramp, and Boyd let out a battle cry as he led the way across. I followed behind Oscar, and bounded off the end of the ramp straight into one of the most chaotic battles I'd ever been in. Balista shots from both Nasir's ship and the enemy arced over our heads, while archers and mages shot indiscriminately into the mêlée. On the deck, all semblance of order was completely lost as the battle devolved into a hundred individual fights between red-armored Begnion troops and the black-garbed enemies. There were no emblems on the enemies' armor, but they definitely looked like Daein troops.

There was no time for me to worry about identifying myself to the Begnion troops or to try and figure out where the Empress was. I just ran straight into the fight, cutting down one man from behind just as he was about to finish a wounded soldier. Another attacker swung a curved sword at my head, and I reflexively blocked with my shield. He kept up the attack, but this time I remembered my lessons and deflected the next blow away and to the side. The man stumbled as his momentum carried him closer to me, and I drove my sword into his chest. That kill gave me some breathing room, and the first thing I noticed was Boyd single-handedly clearing a section of deck. He wielded his two-handed axe in great, sweeping strokes that brought down any enemies who came too close;_ I guess he put that month of training to good use._

Unfortunately, Boyd's heroics drew some unwanted attention. A thunder spell shot across from the enemy ship and grazed his shoulder before it cracked into a mast. Boyd was jolted and dropped his axe, and his opponents ran in to finish him off. Boyd was left scrambling to get his axe, and he was about to be surrounded.

"Aw, hell no!" I yelled angrily as I rushed to help. I wounded one soldier as I charged in from the side, and Oscar brought down a couple more as he too came to his brother's aid. We reached Boyd's side just as he caught the last of his attackers by the neck and twisted violently. There was an audible snap, and the man went limp. Boyd retrieved his axe while Oscar and I kept the rest of the enemies at bay, and then the two brothers proceeded to tear into the nearest enemies.

I ran after them, intending to watch their backs, only to have a black-armored spearman block my way. I turned his first thrust and counterattacked furiously, but I couldn't find a way past his spear and shield. Several times he came close to stabbing me, and I realized I was outmatched. He drove me back with the point of his spear, and I sidestepped at the last second to avoid being impaled against the mast. As luck would have it, my dodge carried me close enough to use my sword, but before I could take advantage of it a fireball exploded against the already weakened mast. The soldier and I were thrown away, and wood splinters flew through the air, shredding allies and enemies alike. The damaged mast groaned in protest, then broke with a great CRACK and came crashing down.

I struggled to my feet and found myself without my sword and shield, while the soldier facing me still held his spear. I gulped and drew my dagger. _Well, this looks familiar_, I thought drily. _Only now I'm on my own_. Without a shield to block with, the soldier was careful to keep the point of his spear between us, frustrating my attempts to get close. He stepped forward and thrust at my chest, and I had to backpedal frantically to keep away.

"AIYAA!" someone screamed, and a slight form dashed in from the side and stabbed a spear into my adversary's leg. He screamed in surprise and pain as he fell to one knee. The spear tip dropped to the deck for a second, and he turned and delivered a vicious backhand to this new attacker, but the distraction gave me enough time to regain my balance and get inside the reach of his spear. He dropped the spear and caught my dagger before I could kill him, then pushed back, trying to stab me with my own weapon. We both threw punches with our free hands, hoping to break the stalemate, but he grew weaker as blood pumped out of his wounded thigh. Finally I punched his wound, and his grip slackened. I drove him back against the fallen mast, stabbing again and again until he finally stopped struggling. As soon as I was sure he was dead, I turned to check on the person he'd hit.

"Holy shit holy shit holy shit!" Alarice stammered as she stared in shock at the blood on her spear and the dead body in front of her.

"Al? What're you-" my exclamation was cut short as several arrows struck the deck nearby. "Get down!" I yelled as I pulled the stunned girl behind the ample cover provided by the fallen mast. Once we were safe, I turned back to Al. "What the hell do you think you're doing?!"

"Saving you, apparently," she replied, tearing her gaze away from the corpse and rapidly regaining her composure. I shook my head.

"_Saving _me? That guy almost killed you!"

"Yeah, well he was _definitely _gonna kill you, so you're welcome!" she shot back.

"Not a chance, I had him exactly where I wanted him," I lied. She totally saved my ass, but there was no way in hell I was going to admit it. I poked my head out of cover, and it was obvious that the mercenaries had really turned the tide of the fight. The enemies were retreating to their ship, but the ship itself was still stuck in the fight; The broken mast had fallen across her deck, and the two vessels were now inextricably tangled. Even now Ike was rallying the mercenaries to attack. I retrieved my equipment, then turned to Al. I noticed blood running down her head from a jagged cut. "The battle's pretty much over, so I want you to go back to our ship and get that cut looked at," I said forcefully.

Al nodded quietly and left, casting one last, horrified glance at the man she'd helped me kill. I shook my head sadly; Sure Al was infuriating at times, but she was a good person and I'd kind of hoped she'd be spared that experience. With effort I put that out of my mind and picked my way along the ruined mast to rejoin the mercenaries. I was halfway across when I saw more trouble coming our way; The other hostile ship, the one running interference, must have noticed that its comrade was in trouble because it broke off from an engagement with a pair of Begnion ships and set a course for us. Ranging shots from its ballistae soared in, and the remaining enemies cheered and fought with renewed energy. I cursed violently and redoubled my pace, but my eyes were once again drawn away from the battle as yet another ship moved to join the fight. This one was flying a grinning skull over crossed axes, and it was _fast_. Everything about the ship screamed 'pirate', but rather than making a course for our vulnerable ships, this one moved to intercept the oncoming vessel, and it didn't slow down to board.

A great shout of "YAR HAR HO!" echoed across the water, and was audible even to me as the pirate ship plowed prow-first into its quarry. A naval ram mounted on the pirate ship's prow tore deep into the enemy's hull, and the ship's angle and momentum dragged that ram along the length of the hull. In a matter of seconds the enemy ship was listing so badly that men began to abandon ship, while the pirates sailed on unscathed. I thought I caught a glimpse of a huge, purple haired figure at the helm. _No, it couldn't be..._ I forced myself to focus on the task at hand, and scrambled onto the deck. There were almost no enemies left, and Boyd, Oscar, Titania and Ike were doing a fine job of mopping up what little remained. Some motion drew my attention to the ruined sails, and I saw one of the enemy mages crawling out from under the wreckage. He saw me and reached for his fallen tome, but I was faster and kicked it away from him. I wasn't about to kill an unarmed man, so I grabbed his collar and dragged him to his feet.

"M-m-m-mercy!" he shrieked when I grabbed him. He was rather diminutive and looked younger than me. Hell, he might have been younger than Al. It took a conscious effort to keep a look of sympathy off my face. Instead, I glared at him in a way I hoped was intimidating.

"Who are you people? There's no emblems on your armor or your ship, but you're equiped like Daeins and you fight like Daeins," I snapped. I can't kill him, so I might as well milk this kid for information.

"Uh, y-yeah we're from Daein. W-we were supposed to kill the princess, but we got the wrong ship," he said. His voice took on a panicked edge and he added quickly "I-it was nothing personal, please don't kill me!"

"There's a mage on one of your ships. He uses dark magic, and is probably a hell of a lot more powerful than you. Where can I find him?" I demanded. Again, I was finding it kinda hard to act scary, so I concentrated on keeping a straight face.

"I-I can't t-tell you, he'll kill me!" That question certainly rattled the poor guy, but now I knew that he knew something, and I wasn't letting him off the hook so easy.

"He's not the one you have to worry about right now!" I snarled. _Ohh, that voice almost sounded like a Batman voice! Cool! _Apparently Batman was scary on Tellius too, because he answered right away.

"Okay okay! SHIT! A-aft cabin, starboard side! Second deck!" the mage said. "I told you everything I know, please just let me go!"

"Thank you, that's all I needed," I said as I slammed my shield into the mage's head. He slumped, unconscious but intact aside from the lump forming on his head. The main deck was clear by now, and I hurried to join the mercenaries as they prepared to clear out the lower decks. Neph got my attention as we headed below.

"D'ye think that mage ye're lookin' for is on this ship?" she asked.

"I know he's here. One of the soldiers told me," I said, unable to keep the excitement out of my voice.

"Let's go, then!" she said eagerly.

I nodded, and lead the way to the correct part of the ship. We split off from the rest of the mercenaries, who were more focused on the crew quarters and captain's cabin. I had to constantly remind myself to check corners instead of charging blindly ahead; After all this time, one of the people responsible for my predicament was within my grasp. Finally, after passing through a the crew's mess and several storage rooms, we found the cabin. Before I could enter, though, a Daein crewman rushed out of another nearby room and attacked. Neph was ready blocked his attack.

"I'll deal with this, you get the mage!" she yelled as she fought. She was tough, and clearly had the upper hand, so I turned back to the door. It was barred from the other side, so I delivered a heavy kick to the door. It shook under the blow, but held up. I kicked several more times with similar results. Finally, Neph cut her opponent down and came over.

"Lemme try!" she said. One kick from her, and the door burst open.

"I loosened it for you," I said lamely. _Damn, I feel so inadequate right now._ We rushed inside, but the only person in the room was familiar masked figure. "Volke? What're you doing here?"

"Looking for the same person as you. We were both too late," he replied curtly. "Must have used warp powder to escape. I need to report this to the commander's son."

"Wait, how did you get in here if the door-" I asked, baffled. The door was still barred...

"Two thousand gold."

"Nevermind," I said helplessly. I guess I should be grateful he told me anything at all. Without another word, Volke strode out of the room, the sound of his footsteps vanishing as soon as he got out of sight. I shrugged, and sent Neph off to help the rest of the mercenaries while I searched the room. The only thing out of the ordinary was a bloodstained table, with a few bloody knives and the burned remains of some parchment on top. The bloodstains were disturbing, and brought to mind Soren's mention of blood magic. I shuddered and continued the search, but after a few minutes I gave up and made my way back outside. Whoever this guy was, he was good at covering his tracks.

Upon reaching the upper deck, I found the pirate vessel that had come to our rescue pulled up alongside the Daein ship. A boarding ramp was extended, and not too far away from it Ike, Titania and the Begnion emissary had just finished a conversation with a gargantuan, purple-haired pirate captain. Their business concluded, the pirate excused himself and headed towards the Apostle's ship, but before he got far he noticed me and let out a loud guffaw.

"By the hair o' Shanty Pete's balls, it's me wee landlubber friend!" Cap'n Nedata bellowed, despite the fact that I was close enough to shake hands.

I was overcome by surprise at seeing Nedata and his crew. Last I'd seen them, they were leaving Gallia and going to Sienne to make money as singing. "I see you've done well in Sienne, Captain Nedata."

"That we 'ave, lad, that we 'ave. Long story short, ye're lookin' at the Cap'n o' the _Chimaera_, scourge o' these 'ere seas. We be privateers now, contracted by th' Apsle- th' Apotl- th' wee Empress ta rid these seas o' slaver scum. I'd love ta share tales o' adventure with ye, but I must be goin' ta check on me other wee landlubber friend. Another time, perhaps," he said. I couldn't help but shake my head and laugh as he went away, singing "Yo ho, YO HO! A privateer's life fer meeee!"; Of all the people I could run into, Nedata was the last one I had expected, but it was a pleasant surprise.

I made my way back to Nasir's ship, and found that the mercenaries were being brought ashore in lifeboats. I fetched my belongings from my cabin, then hopped into a boat with Boyd and a pair of soldiers whose faces I could not quite place.

"Hey Adam, this is Gatrie. He used to be one of us, but that was before you joined up," Boyd introduced one of the soldiers, a tall blond fellow in blue plate mail. I remembered him, although in real life the armor was nowhere near as huge as it was in the game. I extended my hand.

"Hey Gatrie, I'm Adam, the guy who replaced you," I said with an evil grin.

"You guys replaced me?" Gatrie asked, looking quite hurt.

"In your dreams, Adam," Boyd laughed. "Seriously though Gatrie, you should really come back to the Greil Mercenaries. I'm sure Ike would be happy to have you back."

"I'll consider it..." Gatrie answered cautiously.

"While you're doing that, you can introduce me to the beautiful lady over there," Boyd said, indicating the tall, dark-haired girl sitting next to Gatrie.

"I am Astrid, formerly of House Damiel," she replied, an excited gleam in her eye. "If you are looking for soldiers, I would be happy to join your ranks. I am a skilled rider, and quite good with a bow as well."

"Y'know, why don't we discuss this whole recruitment thing over dinner once we get ashore," Boyd said, casting a sly glance my way. "Adam just lost a bet, so he's buying."

"Dude, that bet was just for the first round of drinks," I protested. Dammit, I completely forgot that I had to beat Boyd over here. Well, there goes my money. "And I can't afford to feed _everyone!_"

"Hey, these guys are the only ones I've told, I swear," Boyd said defensively. Just as he finished saying that, however, Ilyana dropped down into the boat.

"Oh hey Adam, I hear you're buying dinner for everyone!" she said excitedly.

"GODDAMMIT BOYD!"

**A/N**

That's right, the pirates ARRR back! Well, this is uploaded one day later than I'd hoped. Y'see, yesterday (friday) marked the one year anniversary of this fic, and I really wanted to have a chapter published that day, but there was a lot going on so I am behind schedule (as usual). Anyway, I just wanted to say that it has been a great year of writing this story, even though I had some regrettably long periods of inactivity. There's all kinds of numbers and stuff I could throw at you, but the important part is this; It has been loads of fun, and I've had the good fortune to meet some really great people (namely you guys). So thank you so much for reading and supporting this fic for so long, and I look forward to another (hopefully more productive) year of writing.

Okay, review responses.

Nekuromansa000: First, I just have to say the evil laughs are by no means a bad habit. In fact, the laugh is important. Very important.

In answer to your first question, A. Adam was holding his shield, and B. Actually, it is explicitly stated; "...I ducked one clumsy blow and made a run for my lost shield... I scooped up my shield and spun to meet Boyd's pursuit..." In answer to your second question, I'm Batman! Finally, I could be wrong, but my understanding is that a parry is accomplished by striking the heaviest or strongest part of your weapon against a light or weak part of your opponent's weapon, knocking it aside and creating an opening. I figured this could be accomplished by striking the end of a sword with the heavy head of an axe, but I am really only trained to use swords so that may well have been an incorrect assumption. Also, Boyd's axe is, in my mind, a two-handed, long-bearded axe, similar to the Iron Axe model in POR/RD. And no, I am not annoyed by questions.


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